Riding the Valkyrie
by ozzysgirl
Summary: Kara is a Valkyrie, and mostly, a very good one. Until she sees the tall, dark-haired warrior laid low by the swing of his enemy's axe. She should take him to Valhalla, but she's not immune to the feelings of envy, or greed, and Freya always has the pick of the fallen. Well not this time. If Kara can't have him, no one will. But the gods and goddesses will not so easily be denied.
1. Chapter 1

So this was how it felt to die.

Rollo stared up at the leaden sky as the ravens circled above him, and listened to the sounds of battle, far in the distance—strange, he'd thought they were closer than that. Maybe the sound of blood rushing past his ears was drowning it out.

He wasn't afraid. He was a mighty warrior, his would be an honourable death, and his place in Valhalla was assured. Gritting his teeth and, fighting the urge to cry out as a shaft of searing, red hot pain ripped through his body, he closed his eyes. And as the cold from the mud seeped into his bones, and the smell of blood filled his nostrils, he waited.

And waited.

~o0o~

"Kara. Kara! Sister!"

The noise came to Kara as if from a great distance away. She half-turned towards her sister's voice, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene that was laid out before her.

"Yes?" She replied absently.

"Are you going to sit and stare at that puddle all day? There's a whole field of warriors waiting for us."

The battle was waning. It would soon be time for Kara and her sisters to begin their work.

The upstart Danish invasion had never had a chance. They were led by a mad man, a mad man who now lay motionless on the field, his head was resting several feet from the stump of his neck. That the imbecile had attempted such a mission, with so few men and such a paltry store of supplies, told Kara that this was the glory-hunt of a radical extremist, not a Jarl-sanctioned endeavour. Not that it mattered. The impudent invaders had been roundly beaten by the Norsemen. Hardly a rebel lay still breathing in the quagmire of mud and trampled heather.

Kara shuffled her feet and stretched a flapped her wings. She let out a loud "Caww!" and stretched her neck. It was almost time. She and her sisters were perched in a the thick branches of a tree that was still without leaves after the bitter winter. Not that this season was any less sharp, but the sky now seemed to have swallowed all the snow that it had tried to shed. Only few insistent flurries still lingered, spinning through the air in lazy spirals in the absence of any breeze.

At the unseen signal, Kara and her sisters spread their wings and jumped from the branch, shrieking their warnings at the warriors below them. They swooped low, the tips of their iridescent wings almost dipping into the rivers of blood and mud.

These men were at their mercy. Kara and her sisters would choose who would follow them to the ever after, and who would live to fight another battle, who would live to spill more of their red blood into the thirsty earth. Freya would get her pick of the slain before anyone. She would choose which men would reside with her in _Folkvangr_. Those that Freya did not beckon, would accompany Kara and her sisters to Valhalla, to sit in the company of Odin. They would be known as the _einherjar_, and they would prepare for _Ragnarok_.

Kara wheeled and shrieked again, and headed for the puddle whose appeal had so amused her sisters. To be sure, there was a puddle, but in that muddy water, fouled by blood and gore, lay the body of a warrior.

~o0o~

How much more must he endure?

Had he not faced his enemy without fear? Even after the arrow had pierced his lung, stealing the breath from him, he hadn't hesitated. Two more had fallen, before a blow to the chest had knocked him onto his back into the oozing mud.

Were the gods testing him? His death had been honourable, but his life had not.

He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the memory of himself on his knees in front of his brother, and the years of self hatred, when he'd wished himself dead.

Rollo tried to take a breath and a spasm ran through him, filling his throat with blood. He hadn't realised he'd been dead inside back then. An empty husk of a man, waiting for his body to stop functioning. He'd believed himself beyond redemption.

Siggy hadn't, though.

His woman—if that was what she was—had seen potential in him. Maybe she herself, had fallen so far, that he was her only option. Siggy was ambitious and hungry to reinstate her status. And he was the brother of Ragnar Lothbrok after all.

There was no love in what they had. For Siggy he was a means to an end, and he was sure she wouldn't mourn his death. As for him... He wasn't really sure. He knew she'd been using him—he may not have been Ragnar, but he wasn't stupid, and she'd made no secret of her ambitions—and he knew that her greatest weapon was sex. But he had cared for her in his own way.

He'd been a fool. He could see that now. He'd allowed his jealousy of his brother to cloud his judgement. And allowed those with ambitions greater than his, to put thoughts into his head.

He was Rollo Lothbrok. Not Ragnar. He was a mighty warrior. He didn't play games with kings, and he wasn't born to lead. He was born to fight. And to die an honourable death.

A new pain, deep inside him, brought him to the present, and he opened his eyes at the sound of fluttering wings above him. Rollo squinted at the raven on the branch above him. He wouldn't curse, or cry out. If the gods were testing him, he'd prove himself worthy. He tried to pull his face into a grin as the raven cocked her head, and fixed him with her beady eye, then closed his eyes again, and waited.

~o0o~

Kara settled herself more comfortably. The warped bark dug into her leathery claws, but it did not hurt, it wasn't even uncomfortable as she fluffed her wings, trapping a layer of air close to her skin for warmth.

The man lying in the mud, almost directly beneath her perch, was not warm. She could tell by the blue tint to his skin and lips. Much of his life fluids were no longer in his body where they should rightly be, and the ground was hardening with the arrival of the evening's harsh frost. This one teetered on a knife edge. Truly, there was not much of a decision to make about whether he would become one of the slain. That he would die, soon, without intervention, was a certainty.

Kara would have been able to tell that he had fought hard and with valour, even if she had not witnessed almost every move that he'd made. His axe had swung in wide, deadly arcs. His sword had struck with swift, true thrusts. The strength in his legs and shoulders had been evident, even from her far vantage point. That he had discarded his shield, after sustaining a brutal slice to his bicep, and instead had punched his opponents with his bare fist as a form of defence, had been a thing of beauty to behold.

Yes, this one should do well in Valhalla. He would sit in a comfortable seat, wrapped in snug furs, and laugh as he drank mead with Odin. Kara enjoyed hearing the ribald jokes and stories that the men shared, interspersed with tales of wild battles, as she bore the never-emptying jug of mead around the great hall. She and her sisters were never the butt of the jokes. It might be the afterlife, but a Valkyrie could still make even an _einherjar_ regret his less-than-respectful attitude.

The warrior's torso was still pierced by the torn shafts of the arrows that had struck him, but the wounds no longer bled. His body did not have much more blood to give. Only the axe wound at his back, between those muscled shoulder blades, still seeped, but that was only because he lay prone. Kara could hear the final breaths rattling in his lungs, the last pitiful beats of his heart, as his body struggled against the finality of death.

And then… he smiled…

His eyes were closed, but his lips were curved in an unmistakable expression. He was not afraid. He knew he was dying, and he was ready, he had made his peace. Brave warrior.

Kara shuffled her feathers again.

She felt disquieted. She had watched closely, to the detriment of her duties, she had concentrated on this one warrior, mesmerized by the fluid way in which his body, tall even for a Norseman, had dealt death to all who faced him. His long sable hair had whipped in the wind, kept from his face by his battlebraids. His beard, even though his face was now growing gaunt with fatigue and pain, was lush and thick. He had certainly caught her attention. He would certainly catch Freya's.

Kara let out an indignant squawk before she could catch the sound. That bitch had begun to believe her own legends. She was the goddess of battle, and ultimately death, but the simple people who dwelt below the heavens needed something more optimistic to worship in their queen of gods, and had christened her a goddess of love and fertility. Freya was letting all those adoring prayers and bountiful sacrifices go to her head. She would claim this warrior for her greedy self, for sure.

In that moment, Kara's mind was decided. Freya would not get the opportunity to offer this warrior a ride in her chariot.

~o0o~

His body was fighting to survive. No matter how hard he tried to stop them, his lungs fought for just one more breath and his heart fluttered in his chest. Rollo could no longer pinpoint where the pain was. It was everywhere, and he was sure that if he could, he'd have cried out.

And then it was gone.

Relief washed over him. Finally it was over. Soon he'd be drinking with his fallen comrades and... A breath of air kissed his lips, and he forced his eyes open.

A woman was leaning over him, and she was more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen in his life. Even Lagertha paled in comparison. This vision, for it must have been a death-dream, had eyes the colour of the ocean on a bright summer's day, and hair that fell to her waist in thick curls, shining like the moon on a winter's night. Her lips parted and her kiss was feather light as the brushed his own. "She shall not have you." His lungs filled with air and the pain returned, filling his body with fire, as she smiled. "I give you my breath."

"No." Had he spoken out loud?

The woman took the axe that was still gripped tightly in his hand, and sliced it across the palm of her own, allowing the blood to fall, burning hot, onto his face. "I give you my blood."

The pain intensified and his body arched. "No."

"Rollo Lothbrok. Greatest warrior, bravest of men," her lips brushed his again. "I give you life."

"No!" He tried to rise, but the pain was too much, and then, mercifully, the world faded away as he sank into oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2

For almost a full moon Rollo had existed in a private prison of agony. A fever had tightened its grip around him, with gnarled fingers both as icy as the waters of the fjord in winter and as hot as the centre of the blacksmith's forge. He had shivered until his bones had almost snapped with the shaking. He had sweated and burned until it seemed he might end up as a pile of grey ash on the damp covers of his bed.

The fever had broken, but he was not convinced that it had not taken his mind when it had left.

He slept fitfully. The arrow that had pierced his left shoulder had rendered the whole arm numb, and he didn't know if he would ever recover use of the limb. Since he could not feel it, it had become a terrible hindrance. The arrow that had been buried in the right side of his torso had damaged his chest in some way. If he tried to lie down, his breath left his body and stubbornly refused to return until he had clawed his way to a more upright position. Lagertha had mounded furs and blankets at the head of his bed, so that he could sleep propped up.

The axe wound at his back caused him the most consternation. Although it seemed the least grievous harm, being fairly shallow, it had affected his legs. He still had the use of those limbs, just, but they were as weak as those of a newborn fawn. Before he could even try to stand, he had to lift them with his one good hand over the edge of the bed. When he did eventually managed to stumble to the hunched pose which resembled upright, he teetered. When he had first woken, he had need of Bjorn to help him piss, an indignity that made Rollo seethe. He had, at least, insisted on holding his own prick, relying on his nephew to keep him vertical.

All in all, Rollo was not grateful to be alive. He should have died out there in that muddy field. He had fought bravely. He had deserved his warriors death. He should now be drinking mead with Odin in the great hall in Valhalla, laughing, fighting and joking with all his old friends who had already been welcomed to that hallowed place. The life of a cripple was too pitiful to contemplate. If he couldn't fight, and he couldn't farm, then he would be nothing more than a burden on the community. Bjorn would not let him starve; Lagertha very well might, but her son had a bigger heart. He would have a roof and food, but it would be charity.

Rollo fought the discomfort of sleep until he slipped into an exhausted unconsciousness, but even then he couldn't relax. He was tormented by the warped visions that he'd seen as he had been taking what he'd been sure were his last gasping breaths.

He remembered a woman. He knew she had not been in the battle. There had been women fighting, but this one had been pristine, perfect, not a speck of gore or grime on her, as if she repelled the dirt by magic. He had been certain that she had been a Valkyrie. He knew, in a prideful way of knowing, that he had earned his place in Valhalla.

But instead of granting him glory, the bitch had stolen it from him.

She had acted as if she were doing him a great favour, granting him a boon, when she had breathed her own breath against his lips and smeared her own blood on his face. All the hurts of all the injuries he had ever sustained since the day he was first able to wield an axe had resurged and coalesced, turning his blood to lava and his bones to jagged rocks, piercing and burning his wretched skin from within.

She had saved him, but she had stolen his life as surely as if she had carried him away on her raven's wings. She had denied him the reward he deserved, that he had earned, and had cursed him to this half-life. Rollo Lothbrook, the once mighty warrior whose mere name weakened the knees of lesser men, was now brought low, always to be dependant on the pity of others.

~oOo~

"Do you know why you have been brought before me?" Odin's voice wasn't unkind, but Kara knew that if she lied, he wouldn't hesitate to banish her... or worse.

"Yes." She dared to raise her eyes. "I gave my essence... I saved a warrior's life." From the corner of her eye, she could see Freya's smirk.

"And you are aware that there will be consequence for your actions?"

"Yes."

"Why would you do such a thing, child?"

Kara shook her head. "Truly, I do not know."

Odin leaned forward. "Rollo Lothbrok is a mighty warrior. You breathed life into him, but you did not heal him. You have denied him of his rightful place in my hall."

"But Freya..."

His smile was both benevolent and terrifying. "You were jealous of your sister?"

Kara closed her eyes. "Yes."

"Ah, my child. Do you really think I would have allowed her to deny such a man as him, his place by my side?" He leaned back in his throne. "Am I not the most powerful god?" He chuckled, and below them on earth, she could hear a rumble of thunder. "You overestimate her power—and so, I believe, does she." Freya opened her mouth to speak, and he silenced her with a wave of his hand. "What I give, I can also take away."

Kara shuddered. When she'd breathed life into Rollo, she'd believed she could heal him, but his wounds were so great, that it would have taken all of her. "I'm sorry."

"Yes. I believe you are. Never the less, you must be punished." Odin stood. "You will leave this place. No one but Rollo will see you in this form, and it must be you who heals him. If he forgives you and takes you as his woman, you may show yourself to all, and join him here after death. If not, you will sent an eternity pecking at the corpses of the fallen, and be forever remembered as Kara the scavenger."

"How can I heal him?"

Odin shrugged. "You show him how to heal himself. Rollo Lothbrok is fated, but it is for him to reach his destiny."


	3. Chapter 3

It had been two moons since the battle. The Ram Month had become Thorri, which had given way to Goi.

Ragnar had dared to visit Lagertha, the previous night, the night of the full moon. It was the month when, traditionally, the men took care of their women. Ragnar had turned up hoping to _take care_ of Lagertha. Lagertha had nearly taken care of Ragnar with a dagger to the bollocks. Rollo, from his pallet on the other side of the house,had taken care not to laugh too loudly. There was a time when he would have teased Ragnar mercilessly for the rejection that he'd suffered, but Rollo was bitterly aware now that should he poke fun too bawdily, that Ragnar was more than capable of beating him bloody without even breaking a into a sweat.

Over the course of the time since his fever had broken, Rollo had begun to gain a little strength. He could walk by himself now, with the help of a stick. Rollo counted that as walking by himself, he did not need Bjorn to help him get out of bed. He had regained some feeling in his arm, but he was not yet certain if that was a blessing or a curse. Sometimes the limb was completely numb again, sometimes it felt as though it were being stung by a thousand wasps. When in one state, Rollo usually wished for it to be in the other. He still could not sleep prone without feeling as though he was drowning.

Now Bjorn was off doing… well, Rollo hoped he was enjoying himself as a young buck should. There was no reason for the boy to be beholden to his crippled uncle. Lagertha had taken her fishing stick and was no doubt taking her frustrations out on the salmon in the river. Rollo considered that he should thank his brother for the plentiful bounty that Lagertha's ire was bound to lay on the table that night. But Rollo didn't thank his brother. He watched, silently, as Ragnar guided the skiff out into the fjord. Ragnar had tried to embrace him before he left. Rollo had shrugged the touch away, angry at his brother for daring to presume that the wife he had abandoned should welcome him, jealous that Ragnar had the full use of his limbs, depressed that his brother should take his strength and movement so for granted, as he had once done himself.

Ragnar had looked at him with pity before he had pushed the shallow-hulled boat into deeper waters. Rollo hated for anyone to look at him with pity. He had shouted, screamed and cursed at Lagertha and Bjorn so much, that they looked at him with despair, anger and contempt, but rarely pity. Rollo's gut still churned with the knowledge that he was now, and forever would be, the weaker brother.

Rollo watched, sour in spirit, as his brother rowed out of sight, around the jagged grey rocks that struck out of the forest that bounded the eastern shore of the fjord. He watched until the ripples in the water, left by the boat's passing, had faded until the water was a smooth as a blade.

The world was a peaceful place again. The birds resumed their breeze resumed it's whispering through the trees. The day continued as if he were not there.

He shouldn't be there. It was an insult to the gods that so great a warrior as he should now shuffle through life no stronger than a child, no more useful than a withered crone. Rollo cursed the bitch of a Valkyrie who had snatched his chance of everlasting glory. He wouldn't be going to Valhalla now, not ever. If he hadn't earned the right before that last battle, he was never going to be able to earn it now.

Rollo feared, with a terror so deep and dark it brought tears to his eyes, that he would never be more than he was now, that this was all the use of his manhood he had left to him. He could not bear it, the idea of so many summers and winters looming ahead, endless in their frustrating monotony.

He stared at the glass-smooth water and considered filling his clothes with rocks and wading out into the frigid waters. He quickly discarded that idea. He had seen men drown, it was not a pretty sight. A body did not slip quietly, willingly, beneath the surface. The heart and lungs fought for life with a violence that was horrible to watch. Of course, his own damaged chest might give out quickly, but then again, it might not.

If he was going to die, if he was going to… take his own life, then he would be damn sure he was successful.

Rollo did not worry what Bjorn or Lagertha would think. Lagertha would be glad to be free of the burden. Bjorn would be sorry, maybe, for a while, but he was a strong boy and would see the loss for the rightness that it was.

The swiftest and surest way that he knew to take a life, was to slice his enemy's head from his neck. The next surest way would be to aim for the heart. Neither of which he was capable of doing by himself. Rollo resigned himself the knowledge that his death would not be speedy, and that there would be an element of discomfort, but still, wading into the fjord did not appeal.

There was another way. It could be quick, hopefully. It might not be, but the result would still be the same. There was a length of rope coiled by the door of the hut. He needed only to find a sturdy branch in the forest and he would have all he needed to gain peace. Bjorn and Lagertha would not look for him until night fell, and perhaps not even then. He had not been pleasant company.

Rollo gripped his staff, the one that Bjorn had cut for him from the sapling of an oak tree, and began to make the effort to push to his feet. He had been sitting on one of the smooth boulders that looked to have tumbled down the hillside as if seeking to bathe in the waters. His legs were stiff from sitting motionless for so long.

"Fuck!" He grunted. The staff bent under his weight. He fell back down to the stone. His arse hit it with a painful thud that sent a jolt up his spine. At least his staff had not broken. Rollo took a deep breath and gathered himself to try again.

"Caww!"

The harsh shriek drew Rollo's attention. He turned, so suddenly a spasm of pain shot up his neck. By Odin, was he not damaged enough that he should damage himself more? The sound had come from a raven. Damnable bird. They had once been a sign of good fortune. Rollo took them to mean only bad luck for him now.

"Go! Be gone."

He bent to snatch up a pebble from the beach, at the foot of the boulder he was sitting on, and flung it at the raven.

The raven screeched again, more loudly, and flapped it's wings, but the pebble fell short of its target.

"Fuck." Rollo spat. He couldn't even hit a scrawny bird with a rock. He picked up a bigger stone, and threw it harder.

The fucking bird dodged the missile. It actually hopped, almost to the point of taking flight, and landed closer. He was losing his mind. A bird, a fucking bird was tormenting him, teasing him. Now he really did want to kill himself, to lose his mind as well has his body was beyond anything he could tolerate. But first, he was going to kill this fucking raven.

Rollo snagged a bigger stone, one the size of his closed fist, and launched it at the raven.

~o0o~

Kara perched on the rock and watched as Rollo picked up another stone and hurled it in her direction, cursing when, again, it fell short. She couldn't yet hear his thoughts, but could see what was in his heart, and her own broke at what she had done.

This man, this beautiful, brave warrior, who had fought so fearlessly, had reached the depths of his despair, and wished only to die. And if she was truthful with herself, she didn't blame him.

Odin had said that he could heal himself, but Kara could not see how that was possible. When she looked into Rollo's heart, there was too much pain. It was wrapped all around him and buried deep into the very core of his being. He seemed, to her, to be broken beyond repair.

He glared at her and picked up another stone. "Fuck off."

They were all alone. Kara took a deep breath. The air around her shimmered and grew thick, like water. She showed herself, her true self, to Rollo.

"I cannot do that, Rollo Lothbrok."

"You!" Leaning heavily on his staff, he struggled to his feet. "You..."

"Yes." She took a step towards him. "It is I."

"What do you want? Is it not enough that you've denied my place in the great hall, that now you have to mock me?"

She fought the urge to throw herself at his feet and beg for forgiveness. She was a Valkyrie—or at least, she had been—she may never again be the collector of the fallen, but she had her pride, and her place in Valhalla was assured, if she could, somehow, convince Rollo that she was worthy of a place at his side. Kara lifted her chin, and dared to meet those, hate filled, eyes. "I'm not here to mock you. I'm here to help you."

"Like you helped me before?" He took a step towards her, hate and pain radiating from him, with such force, that she almost took a step back. "I'm a simple man, and I don't pretend to understand the ways of the gods, but I'm done with their games. Just go, and leave me alone to die."

"I cannot." Even as broken as he was, he was magnificent. "You and I are destined to be together. That is Odin's wish."

"Odin can fuck himself." His laugh was bitter. "I would rather spend an eternity in Niflheim than one moment with you."

"I don't believe you."

"And I don't care what you believe, bitch. You did this to me. You and Odin." He looked up to the sky, and took a wheezing breath. "I was baptised a Christian, and I renounce you."

"No." Kara dared to take a step closer. "This was not Odin's doing. It was mine."

"Why?" He stumbled, and she reached out to steady him. "Don't touch me."

Letting her arm fall back against her side, she sighed. "Because Freya would have chosen you."

~oOo~

He needed to sit back down, Rollo blinked as his vision swam. There never seemed to be enough breath inside him, and standing and talking left him as weak as a newborn at the best of times. But standing in front of this... this whore of Odin, ignited such a rage in him, that he would have been left breathless even if his lungs had been full of air.

He felt himself sway. Locking his knees, and through gritted teeth, he forced himself to suck in more air. He would not fall to his knees in front of her. "Go away, _Valkyrie_. Leave me alone."

"I cannot." She took another step towards him, and, on tiptoe, brushed her lips against his.

Immediately, his vision cleared as air rushed into his lungs. Rollo jerked his head away. "Stop that."

"Let me help you." Her breath was inside him, filling him with him the taste of an ocean breeze. "I can help you, Rollo."

"Can you heal me?" He already knew the answer to that. "Can you make me whole, _Valkyrie_? Can you make my legs strong or give my arm the strength to carry a shield?" He loomed over her and curled his lip. "Well, can you?"

"No."

"Then, leave." He turned and began to make his way, slowly, to the rock—already he could feel her breath leaving his body.

"I cannot."

He believed her. "Did I do something to anger the gods?"

"No." She gently touched his arm and, as much as he'd have liked to, he couldn't pull away from her. "You must listen to me, Rollo Lothbrok. You are a mighty warrior, the bravest of men. I wronged you, and I must right that wrong. I can give you my breath and my blood, but I cannot give my limbs or my organs. I can only give what I can spare. I cannot make you whole—that is for you to do—but I can help you heal yourself."

"And if I refuse your help?"

She shrugged. "You will never get to Valhalla."

~oOo~

"Ha! Get to Valhalla? If I was not worthy before, I never will be."

"I told you, Rollo. That you did not find yourself drinking with Odin after that last battle was my fault, not yours."

"Because of Freya? A likely story."

"It's true. You know the legends, that Freya gets first choice of the fallen to take to _Folkvangr_. She would have chosen you, and you still would not have been at Odin's side." Kara explained patiently.

"But I would have been a whole man, a whole man at the side of a goddess, instead of a cripple talking to a half-breed imp."

"Watch your tone, Rollo."

Kara was getting a little sick of Rollo's obstinate attitude. She was offering to help him, he was miserable as he was. One would have thought that he would have been a touch more grateful.

"Or what? What can you possibly do to me that is worse than that which you have already done?" Rollo tried to wave a hand to indicate his ruined body, but his left arm would not raise to complete the motion. He made a sound of disgust at his own body.

"I could refuse to help you at all. Without my aid you are destined for the life of a cripple."

"I'm destined for no life at all _Valkyrie_." The scorn he heaped on the word was like the searing touch of white-hot metal.

"Don't say such things, Rollo."

"Why should I not? Why should I not speak the truth?" Rollo cocked his head to one side and looked at her for long moment. Those eyes, the green of fresh moss, sharpened and narrowed. "What am I to you, imp? Why should you help me so? What do you get out of this… charitable act?"

Kara paused a heartbeat too long before she answered. It wasn't that her answer wasn't true, but it was only half of the truth. "I want to right the wrong I committed against you. That is all. If I help you to heal yourself, you will become strong, whole, and will be able to enter Valhalla as a true _einherjar."_

"By your side? At Odin's wish? That's what you said, wasn't it?"

Rollo's tone was scornful. Kara did not think that his question was truly a question, exactly, but she answered him anyway. As much as the truth that she could give him, would give him, might ease their way.

"It… was."

"But you're a _Valkyrie_." Rollo's tone was coldly mocking now. Gods, but the man could be cruel when he wanted to be. The deep scars that lined his face twisted his smirk out of kilter still further until his face was a mask of something despicable. "You don't need me to get into Valhalla. You're a daughter of the gods, it's your home."

Kara remained silent. She held her tongue, partly through shame; she had not been strong enough to heal him completely on the battlefield, she had been caught out in her jealousy of Freya - which had resulted in this awkward situation - and she was being punished as an errant child. But she also held her tongue because she wanted to tell Rollo to shove his self-righteousness up his arse.. sideways.

Rollo missed her the sparks of fury in her downcast eyes, and took her lack of response and lowered head as his only answer.

"Ahhhh, so that's it."

Really, there was no need for him to sound quite so self-satisfied.

"You need me. You're being punished for being a naughty imp. If you don't get me in, you don't get in either."

He made her task sound so selfish. Yes, she wanted to return to her home, but that was not the only reason she wanted to help, not at all. "No. That's not true. I want to help you, Rollo." Although if he was going to continue with this attitude, she might well reconsider.

Rollo threw his head back and laughed. Kara would have liked to have heard him laugh in true pleasure. She thought that the sound may be deep, rolling like thunder from that broad chest. But this laugh was full of derision, it was ugly. When he had to halt to cough and wheeze, Kara nearly told him it served him right. But he wasn't done taunting her.

"You want to help only yourself. Well, fuck you. If I don't get into Valhalla, neither do you. I was going to take that length of rope there." Rollo hitched his head towards the cottage. "And stretch my neck. I cannot bear to live like this." At that statement, his disparaging tone had given way to a real, raw, honest emotion, but it soon turned again. "But for you _Valkyrie_, for you I would live like this until I was a hundred years. You'll have to wait for me to die of old age, and you'll have to hope that Odin takes pity on you, because I will not open the doors of the Great Hall for you."

Kara had had enough. Of all the ungrateful, obnoxious, arrogant oxen walking the earth calling themselves men, this man was the king of them. She had thought Odin bad enough, but Rollo was worse. She was offering him a chance to have his life back, and he was throwing it in her face. He would regret his scorn.

She hadn't exactly expected that Rollo would welcome her with open arms, and had half hoped that he wouldn't recognise her. It would have made the granting of the bounty of her help much easier, but everything in her that was vain had wanted him to remember her, the fierce and beautiful warrior maiden who had saved him.

"I offered you my help. If you want to live as a cripple, as half a man, so be it. Scratch out your years with the chickens and the mice. That's all you're good for now. See if I care."

Kara quickly shrouded herself in the form of a raven again and flew off into the edge of the forest that blanketed the cliffs behind the homestead. Rollo Lothbrok could wallow in pigswill before she would grant him more of her aid.


	4. Chapter 4

What had he done to deserve this? Rollo tottered back to the rock and sat down, heavily. Of all of Odin's daughter's, he'd got her.

Somewhere, deep inside him, the voice of reason was suggesting that refusing her help, might have been a stupid idea, but he allowed his anger to silence it. If he was going to heal, it would be with without her help. And he'd rather have half a life knowing that she was suffering, than help her return to her father's side.

"Fuck." His staff, that in his anger, he'd dropped carelessly onto the sloping surface of the rock, slid out of his grasp into a gully filled with just enough flowing water to carry it into the fjord. "Fuck."

He refused to turn at the sound of fluttering wings, behind him. "I don't need your help."

"Good, because I wasn't offering." She wandered to the water's edge and watched the staff bobbing on the surface. "I'm sure you can manage without it."

A fresh wave of anger surged through him. "Leave me alone, _Valkyrie_. I'd rather die on this rock than accept any help from you."

"No. I think I'll stay here." She glanced up at the gathering clouds. "At least until the rain comes." Daintily, she sat on a low, flat, boulder and folded her hands in her lap. "I've never met a man as foolish as you. Although, of course, the only men I've met, are brave warriors, who have earned their seat in my father's hall."

"Why you..." He actually managed to take a few steps before his legs remembered they didn't work, and he pitched, face first, onto the sharp shingle, knocking what little breath he had left, out of him. He closed his eyes, as pains he'd forgotten re-awoke. "Fuck."

"What a pity you didn't ask." She stood and walked towards him. "No matter, I'm sure someone will come by here before dark."

If he could just take a breath, and move his useless arm... Rollo gasped and willed the leaden limb to move. "Leave... me...alone."

Crouching next to him, she brought her face close to his. Rollo sucked greedily at her breath as it ghosted past and she laughed. "You need me, Rollo Lothbrok. Admit it." She parted her lips and moved closer. The cold left his bones as he was enveloped in a warmth that he'd never thought he'd feel again."Do you really want to end your days like this? Cold, alone and gasping for breath, floundering on the shingle, like a stranded salmon." As she sat back, the cold poured back into his body. "The fires always burn in Valhalla. Such a shame you will never feel them."

"Valkyrie."

For a moment, he thought she hadn't heard him. Then smiling, she brought her lips to his. Rollo brought his right arm up and ran his fingers through her hair. Summoning what little remaining strength he had, he forced her head closer.

Her breath wasn't hers to give.

It was his to take.

Life surged through him. Rollo roared as a thousand burning spears pierced his body, and his blood boiled and frothed like the rivers of Muspell. He would take all she had. He would... the air thickened and she fell from his grasp, leaving him holding just a feather.

She half hopped, half flew, just out of reach, and collapsed, panting heavily with her wings outstretched. Ignoring the pain, Rollo pushed himself to his knees and picked up a rock.

~o0o~

No no no no no no no no no no

No

She would not let him take…

She would not let him take all he wanted.

She would not let him insult her and then pull her close…

She would not…

Would not…

She would not let him make her weak. And yet, she was unable to find the strength to make her wings to bear her to the sky. He had taken too much. He had taken more than she had been willing to give.

Still disorientated from the exertion of having her essence stolen, Kara could not move quickly enough to avoid the rock that Rollo launched in her direction. It glanced off the tip of her wing. Her squawk this time was not one of indignation, it was one of pain.

The ignorant bastard sought to steal his health from her, and then to hurt her. Feeling small and insignificant, in ways that she wasn't at all used to, Kara changed again. She crouched on the shingle beach, tucking her knees under her chin, and examined her aching wrist. It hurt, the skin was red across the joint, but she could move it. She circled her hand, biting her lip to keep from crying out. It was sprained and would bruise, but it was not broken.

"Did I hurt you _Valkyrie_?" His voice dripped with venom. "Can you not heal yourself?"

Kara had never felt pain before. She was a child of the gods, and had always believed herself impervious. But that had been before Rollo had stolen her essence and left her weak. She dared to raise her eyes as he tried and failed to get to his feet. The foolish man had believed that by taking all she had, he would become whole again.

"Can you die?"

Truthfully, she did not know. But she knew that if she did, so would he. Rollo had no need to to take that rope; without her help, the first sickness that the winter brought, would surely end him. He picked up another rock, and Kara experienced another new, far more unpleasant feeling. She was afraid.

She would not show it, though.

"You cannot kill me, Rollo Lothbrok. You need me."

His derision stung more than the rock had. "I need you? No, Valkyrie I don't think I do."

"Then take that rock, and cave in my skull." She snorted. "Oh, you can't can you? I may be weak now, but I will soon be strong again. Can you stand, Rollo? Even if the pain was bearable, would your legs hold you? Can you not feel my breath leaving your body?" Kara looked into those beautiful eyes. "Your pride is going to kill you."

~o0o~

It wasn't the first time that someone had told him that his pride would be his downfall. It wasn't the first time that someone would have been correct in that prediction. But that wasn't what made Rollo drop the rock that he'd picked up. He'd had every intention of lobbing it at the infuriating woman's head. He didn't believe that she wanted to help him, certainly she had done nothing, so far, more than torment and taunt him.

No, the thought, or rather the feeling, that loosened his fingers and let the rock slip back to its brothers in the shale, was the tingling that he could still feel across his lips. And, damn, if he couldn't feel it elsewhere, too.

On a miserable day like this when the clouds hung low and grey, wreathing the tops of the pines with mist, and the fjord was the colour of dull iron, everything usually looked washed out and bland. It was as if the incipient storm stole the colour from the world before it washed it clean. Everything seemed a little dimmer, everything except the Valkyrie crouched on the rocky beach.

She was watching him, the way a mouse would watch a cat. The grim set of those pink lips broadcast her obstinacy, but the way her blue eyes were wide and watchful told him that she knew fear. Regret was not an emotion that Rollo was used to; it was too bitter for his palette and he had no use for it. What was done was done, a man could only move forward. But seeing the way that she held herself tense, readying for another assault, made him regret his harshness… at least a little.

Rollo didn't see how she could be mortal, not if she could still shift forms, but it was obvious that she was not as strong as she had been. Perhaps it was likely that he could kill her. He rubbed his fingers over his mouth, turning the motion into stroking his beard before she could comprehend what he was doing. He didn't want her to know that she affected him in such a way. He didn't want to give her that power over him. She was already insufferably arrogant.

He didn't _need _her. He'd made his choice, he could end his life without her intervention or assistance. But with her essence singing through his veins, Rollo began to feel the first stirrings of the possibility that he might not always be crippled. Still, he didn't _need _the Valkyrie, he could heal without her aid, although it would be quicker if she would grant him help, if she would allow him to kiss her again. He didn't _need _her, but he did _want _her.

In the obstinate sprite crouched on the beach, Rollo saw the warrior goddess who'd leant over him on the battlefield. Those wide blue eyes were starling pools of colour in a drab world. Her hair was pale, almost totally colourless, and yet it seemed to glow. Rollo's fingers itched with the memory of the softness of those curls.

Rollo suddenly had a very clear vision of those silver ringlets laid out in disarray over his pillow, of those blue eyes closed against the intensity of passion, of those dark lashes sweeping over flushed cheeks…

Rollo coughed and rubbed at his beard. It was time to get his traitorous mind, and body, back under control. His first task might be to get off his knees though, because the small rocks the made up the beach were damnably sharp.

"You have me at a disadvantage, Valkyrie." This time he kept the sneer from his tone when he addressed her.

"Clearly." Her suspicion gave an edge to her voice.

"Yes. You know my name, but I don't know yours."

Those blue pools widened impossibly, allowing the suspicion to bleed out of them, as she realised he was right. On the heels of the realisation, her eyes narrowed again and the suspicion returned.

"Are you going to start throwing rocks at me again?"

Rollo grimaced, the stones were really becoming quite painful. "No."

She said nothing, she just stared at him. Rollo stared back, wondering when the fuck she was going to speak. He wondered if she had a name, or if she knew it, or if she'd suddenly been struck mute. And then he realised that she was waiting.

"I'm…" Fuck, he hated to say the words. "I'm sorry."

The Valkyrie didn't look mollified in the least. Rollo began to make peace with the idea that he was going to have to crawl over the beach and into the freezing waters to try and catch his crutch himself. He considered picking up another rock. If he did have to abase himself so, he didn't want any fucking witnesses. He dropped to his hands to take some of the weight from his knees, which were screaming in protest, and almost cried out, as fire roared along his left arm.

It was the rustle of the shale that made him look up. The Valkyrie was still cradling her wrist, but she walked into the water, which surely was of a temperature to make any man wince, without blinking. She released her injury, but kept the damaged limb close to her chest as she reached out to catch his staff. It bobbed once, away from her stretched fingers, but she caught it at the second attempt.

Rollo watched the woman carefully as she brought his staff back to him. There was every chance that she would swing it and hit him around the head with it. It was a sturdy length of wood, if she did that, it would hurt. Rollo braced himself for the impact.

But the blow never came.

She stood tall and proud before him, as he knelt pathetic and alone at her feet.

"My name is Kara."

And then she handed him his staff.


	5. Chapter 5

It hadn't been graceful, and he'd needed Kara's help, but finally, and with a good deal of swearing, Rollo was on his feet. He looked into her eyes, and swallowed his pride. "Thank you."

There was no sign of the petulant imp, as she inclined her head. "You're welcome." But then her cheeks dimpled and she peeked at him through her lashes. "Now, that wasn't so hard was it?"

Rollo couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from turning up. "You are going to test me sorely, Imp." His grin widened at her pout. "Kara."

Despite his renewed vigour, the day's exertions had taken their toll on Rollo, and he needed to lay down somewhere warm. The small house that had commandeered for his care was just a short distance along the beach and he was sure he could walk there unaided. But as he turned, Kara laid her hand on his back, and a gentle warmth spread outwards, giving life to his deadened limbs.

He didn't _need_ her to walk with him, but he wanted her to. "We should go inside, before the storm comes. And you need me to look at your wrist."

"Of course."

Her smile was a little too smug, but Rollo bit his tongue. He didn't want her to take her hand away.

~oOo~

Kara stood in the doorway and wrinkled her nose. "You live here?"

"We can't all live in Valhalla. What's wrong Valkyrie, have you never been in a Norseman's home before?"

Kara let his use of her entity as a name slip, because he was smiling, teasing her with humour rather than cruelty. "No, actually. When you collect the souls of warriors for a living, you don't take them from their beds."

Was that a wince she saw? Kara half-regretted her blunt words, but she would not take them back. She had spoken the truth. Her experience of the earthen realm was only of battlefields, of blood and mud. The stench of of life was usually diluted by the open air. This hovel seemed to contain and distill every bad smell she'd ever smelt. Sweat, smoke, animals, dung, piss, straw, food, blood; it was... potent. And crowded. Pelts hung from the roof beams, in various stages of tanning. Large cuts of meat hung from hook, obviously having been dried and cured. Bunches of herbs and dried leaves and flowers hung among the haunches of lamb and pork. There were barrels around the sides of the room. Some smelt of grain, others exuded the tang of alcohol. fire burned low in the hearth. Kara watched as Rollo limped over to it and tended to it until it became a lively blaze. The heat only enhanced the smell, but she was glad of the warmth.

Rollo straightened and faced her. "You shouldn't insult a man's home."

"But it's not your home, is it?" By Freya, normally she'd own a touch more tact than this.

At first Kara thought Rollo was going to throw something at her, but then his head dropped. His long hair slid over his shoulder, hiding his face from her. He'd turned to look into the fire, blocking her out still further. When he turned back to her, he looked so despondent that she wished she had simply flown away from the beach.

"No, Valkyrie, it isn't."

"You can stop calling me that, now that you know my name."

"It serves me well to remember that you are not of this realm."

"But I am, at least, more than I ever have been before." Since it didn't look like a flaming log was going to be aimed at her head, Kara crept a little closer to the fire.

"You speak in riddles, Imp. What do you mean by that?"

"I think I prefer it when you call me Valkyrie."

Using his staff and an ankle to avoid having to bend down, Rollo hooked two stools over to the hearth. "Come, sit." He commanded.

Her boots and trews were soaked and squelchy from her paddle in the fjord. The rest of her clothes were damp from the mist. As much as it would have been satisfying to toss her hair and walk out without a backwards glance, refuting his ability to tell her to do anything, Kara badly wanted to warm herself by the fire. She would only stay a short while, though.

Kara claimed one of the stools, and as she was settling into a comfortable position, trying not to be too obtrusive about edging her wet feet closer to the fire, Rollo went over to a table that would have been considered a footstool in Valhalla. He returned, juggling two cups and a mug with the practiced art of someone who had been managing without the full use of their limbs for some time. He edged down into his seat before he arranged the cups on the floor so that he could fill them, using his good arm to hold the jug.

He put the jug down and handed Kara one of the cups, before claiming the other for himself.

"_Skol_."

Rollo tossed back the contents of his cup. Kara copied him, and then coughed and spluttered as the mead caught the back of her throat. She was not unused to drinking, but this beverage was rougher, and perhaps stronger than the honey mead she was used to.

"Are you alright, Valkyrie?"

Kara swallowed twice and took a deep breath, but her voice still came out hoarse. "Yes."

"Not what you're used to, is it?"

"No. I mean, of course I've had mead before, but nothing quite like this."

"I mean all of this." Rollo motioned around them with his hand. "This must be very small compared to the halls you know."

"It is." Kara admitted. Now that the mead was warming her bones as the fire warmed her skin, the cottage did not seem to be the hovel it had first appeared. She looked about and noticed that everything was meticulously neat and clean, and that everything had it's place. "But it's… cosy." Kara would not hear a word said against her home, but this little space packed with every iota of its residents' lives was growing on her.

Rollo refilled his cup and took another, smaller, drink. "So, Valkyrie. Tell me how it is that you are of this world, yet not of it."

~o0o~

When she didn't answer, Rollo held out his hand. "Show me your wrist."

Her skin was cool to the touch, and her hands looked like she'd never done a day's work in her life, despite an eternity of servitude. Already the redness was beginning to fade and he allowed himself a small smile. "You heal quickly, Valkyrie."

"It hurts." She stuck out her bottom lip, and looked, for all the world, like a spoiled child.

It occurred to him, that she'd never experienced pain before, and he shook his head. "It's just a little bruise, Kara." Her eyes widened at the sound of her name. Rollo grinned. "Pain is the price of living in this realm, you'll get used to it." He let go of her hand, and shifted on the low stool in an attempt to ease the, ever present, ache in his back. "Are you hungry?"

"I…" She frowned. "I don't know."

"If you don't know, I'll assume you're not." He couldn't stop his treacherous hand from reaching out to touch her hair. Kara flinched, and something twisted inside him. "I'm not going to hurt you." She looked so vulnerable as she huddled, cold and wet, over the fire, and he nodded to the bed on the far wall. "There are furs over there. Take one if you're cold." She didn't move and he frowned. "I'm not waiting on you, Valkyrie."

"I've never been cold before." She turned those huge blue eyes towards him, and he steeled himself-this was her own fault-but couldn't quite suppress the twinge of sympathy that twisted his gut. She smiled, and the twinge headed south. "No wonder you fight so hard for a place in Valhalla."

"You didn't answer my question. Are you of this earth?" He shifted again, as his cock woke up. She blinked and a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. Rollo sat back, completely at a loss as to how he was supposed to respond to that. "Why are you crying?"

Her brow furrowed. "Do you really not know? Have you ever considered anyone other than yourself, Rollo?"

"Have you, _Valkyrie_?" He narrowed his eyes. "_Are_ you a valkyrie? Because if you are, I have to say, you are a disappointment. I always imagined you and your sisters as powerful shield maidens, not snivelling children."

She lifted her chin and her expression hardened as her eyes darkened. "I am Kara, beloved daughter of the gods." Her breath caught, and her chin wobbled. "But I feel like a mortal. And it really is most unpleasant."

~o0o~

"Uncle!"

Kara whipped around at the sound of the masculine shout. She nearly unseated herself and tumbled onto the dirt floor in the process. When she looked over, Rollo looked just as startled. Before either of them could say anything, the door to the homestead opened.

A man walked in, a young man, with his blonde hair shaved in the manner of a warrior. He looked vaguely familiar to Kara, she squinted in the dim light that the fire provided trying to remember where she had seen him before and waited for Rollo to introduce her.

"Uncle, you're up."

The young man was smiling brightly, and ignoring her completely. Rollo looked at her, and back at the intruder, and then back at her. Kara smiled encouragingly, and waited for him to say something.

"Bjorn…" Rollo began.

Ah, that was it! On hearing the name Kara remembered the boy, Rollo's nephew, a warrior in his own right. Bjorn was a good fighter, strong and true. He had no idea that a flock of Valkyries were fighting over being the one to accompany him before Freya and Odin, should he ever be unlucky enough to require that service.

"Yes? You're feeling better today, I see." Bjorn answered as he found himself a cup from the table and came over to pour some mead from the jug. In doing so, he put himself within a hairs-breadth of touching Kara. When he made to sit on the stool that she occupied, almost sitting directly on her knee, Kara scrambled up and away before she could be squashed. Bjorn wasn't even fully grown yet, but he was as tall as his uncle, and almost as broad. The stool could never support them both.

Kara marvelled at Bjorn's poor manners,and then she remembered.

Rollo was looking at her like she'd jumped up to dance a jig. His dark brow was creased with confusion. Kara hissed and pointed at Bjorn, who had emptied his cup in one long swallow and was busy refilling it. Rollo looked between the two of them again, so fast that Kara was worried he'd hurt his neck, and then his jaw dropped agape.

"Uncle?" Bjorn was staring at Rollo's comical expression with some concern.

Rollo shut his mouth so fast his teeth snapped. "Yes, yes..." Rollo stuttered. "I've been… on the shore, watching… the tide come in."

Bjorn looked even more concerned, and then shrugged. His scowl became a bright smile. "In three moons it will be time for the Althing. Do you think you'll be well enough to visit Kattegat by then?"

Rollo seemed to be at a loss for an answer. Kara would have guessed he was wavering between trying to answer the question, and asking Bjorn if he could not see the woman in the room. Unable to help Rollo, unsure if Bjorn was completely deaf to her as well as blind to her, Kara did the only thing she could think to do. She blew Rollo a kiss, and left. She hadn't had time to answer Rollo's question, to explain the quandary she was in. She'd actually begun to enjoy his company, so much so that she had forgotten that no other mortals could see her. Rollo watched her walk out of the cottage, and Kara caught the consternation on Bjorn's face as he tracked his uncle's wide-eyed stare.

As Kara stepped into the freshness of the last of the day, a cool, pine-scented relief from the smoky interior, she spied Lagertha stomping through the trees. Her half-sister was carrying a clutch of silver salmon, hooked by their mouths. From the scowl on her face, she was still annoyed at the presumptuous nature of her errant husband.

Leaving Rollo to his family, Kara fell into her raven form. Her wing was sore, but able. She wheeled up into the sky as the rain began to fall, and headed into the forest to find somewhere to roost for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Lagertha and Bjorn were whispering again. Rollo lay back on his bed and closed his eyes. Maybe they were right, and he had lost his mind.

The storm had raged for three days, and was the worst in living memory. Three long days of getting yelled at for not paying attention - Lagertha had, at one point, thrown a cup at him for staring at the door, instead of listening to her - and worrying. He flexed the fingers of his left hand and, pushing past the pain, lifted his arm and counted to twenty, before letting it drop back onto the mattress. He couldn't remember ever worrying about anyone before. Surely he must have done. What kind of man cared so little about the well being of others, that when they were out of his sight, they slipped from his mind?

He was worried about Kara, though.

Were it not for the memory of her lips on his, and the slightest taste of the ocean on his breath, Rollo would have believed he'd imagined her. That, maybe, those mushrooms he'd eaten, had given him visions. But he knew she was real, even if she only revealed herself to him. And she was out there, somewhere. Cold, afraid, and alone.

He'd insisted on going outside, despite the biting wind and driving rain. He'd tried explaining that taking short walks was strengthening his legs, and didn't need any help, but Lagertha had decreed that he wasn't to be alone. And Bjorn's miserable face meant that, if Kara was there, she didn't show herself.

Of course, there was every possibility that she would be fine, Kara was not of this realm after all, Rollo took a deep breath and coughed. But when he'd looked at her, huddled over the fire, he hadn't seen a mighty Valkyrie. He'd seen a girl who was far from home, in a world she didn't understand.

Kara had felt pain and the cold. Now she would be hungry. But would she know how to feed herself? What if her injured wrist meant she couldn't fly? What if….

"Rollo! Are you listening to me?"

Rollo opened one eye and flexed his fingers again. "If you were still whining about my brother, then no. Fuck him… don't fuck him, I don't care." He opened his other eye and raised his arm with a grunt. "Although, if you did, it might sweeten your mood."

Bjorn sniggered from his seat by the table and Lagertha raised an eyebrow. "There was a time when you would have cared."

"That was before I had to share a roof with you. What do you want?"

"I was saying, that maybe you could come with us to Kattegat. I think you are spending too much time alone. And I'm sure Siggy is missing you."

"So much so, that I'm here with you instead of her."

"Here was nearer. You know that. And Siggy will come when the weather clears." Lagertha gave a rare smile. "So unfortunately, you will have to put up with my sour mood. I'll not be sharing Ragnar and Aslaug's bed, until you can take care of yourself or I can find someone prepared to take care of you."

"Send a slave." He grinned. "A pretty one."

"The gods spared you, Rollo. But they left you broken, I could not leave you in the care of a slave." She sat on the edge of his pallet. "I think they have plans for you."

He snorted. If only she knew. "My brother is the one who's fated for greatness. The gods just like to see me suffer."

She sighed and stood up again. "And those who care for you, it seems."

~o0o~

If she never saw another worm again,it would be too soon. The only good thing, and this benefit was debatable, about the storm was that the raindrops drumming on the earth had hypnotised every worm in creation to the surface of the soil. Kara was cold, wet and miserable, but her stomach was not empty.

She had cursed every deity that she could name for her predicament, as soon as it had become apparent that the storm would not pass overnight. Her wing was useable, but sore. She had found a branch in a pine tree with suitably dense canopy above it. For three days she had not moved except to hop down to the ground to try and fill her stomach with the wriggling pink invertebrates.

She could not help but stay close to the cottage. She had no idea if Rollo knew that she was nearby, within sight of his door, but she was. She would have been drier, and safer, had she sought shelter deeper in the forest, but she had felt an undeniable pull to the little hovel constructed of stone, wood and thatch.

By the end of the fourth day, her feathers were marginally dryer.

By the end of the fifth day, she should fly without pain.

By the end of the sixth day, she was perched almost constantly, on the lowest pine bough by the cottage.

On the seventh day, Lagertha and Bjorn both left the cottage for destinations beyond Kara's knowing. By the seventh day, if they hadn't have left of their own accord, she had been ready to drop frogs down the hole in the roof.

Kara watched Lagertha and Bjorn make their way down the rough path. The path led only away from the cottage, eventually it simply petered out, and it was up to the walker to decide where to go. Kara had no idea if Lagertha and Born even had the same destination in mind, but once they'd crested the rise, she hopped down to the grass.

She transformed even as her wings were flapping, so it was booted feet that hit the earth rather than claws. At almost the exact moment that her leathers hit the still sodden grass, the door to the cottage opened. She hadn't been the only one watching.

~o0o~

Rollo had never expected to feel grateful for his current predicament, but were he not incapable, he would've run to her. As it was, he couldn't stop his lips curling into a grin. Maybe it was her breath that filled his being, but for reasons beyond his comprehension, since first laying eyes on Kara, his every thought had been of her.

That didn't mean he trusted her, though.

There was something smug in the way she smiled and Rollo scowled. And it didn't mean that she wasn't the most irritating woman he'd ever had the displeasure of meeting.

"You were waiting for me." Kara took a step closer, and he was enveloped in the tang of the ocean mingled with the sharp metallic taste of blood. There was no sign of the frightened child as the Valkyrie stood before him, and Rollo had to fight the urge to avert his eyes and sink to his knees.

He would never bow down to her.

The rattle in his chest was absent as he took a deep breath. "I wasn't waiting for you." He pushed past her. "I just needed to take a piss."

"Rollo."

Her voice was as soft as a whisper on the breeze, but held more power than the fiercest battle cry, and Rollo found his feet glued to the ground. He locked his knees; he would not turn around. He would not…

Kara the girl was a little dimmer than Kara the Valkyrie, Rollo smirked, and a little grubbier, but she was no less beautiful. "I have better things to do than sit around waiting for you."

She sighed and her expression hardened. "I had hoped that you would have come to your senses during your confinement. Oh well, no matter." She looked around. "This is a beautiful realm, I look forward to exploring without you. Good bye."

The air around her shimmered and Rollo felt his heart quicken. "You cannot leave me, you admitted as much yourself."

Kara retained her form, and Rollo was sure she didn't hear his sigh of relief. "It is true, Rollo, that if I wish to return to Valhalla, I can only do it at your side. But to be honest, the thought of spending the hereafter, with one as childish as you is not pleasant. I can just as easily spend it here on earth."

~o0o~

"You denied it, but now you admit the truth of the matter." Rollo looked entirely too pleased with himself in Kara's opinion. "You need me to get back to Valhalla. You're not simply helping me because you feel sorry for me. You wish to use me."

"And you don't wish to use me?"

That sentence had not come out of her mouth in the way that it had sounded in her head. Rollo appeared to have turned to stone. He wasn't even quavering on his weak legs.

"I mean, use me to become whole again... to get into Valhalla." Kara stuttered.

Rollo literally shook himself. His grin, when he had recovered his wits, was wolfish. "So, it will be a mutually beneficial relationship. But tell me, _Valkyrie_, how is it that my nephew could not see you?"

"I'd really rather that you call me Kara. There's always such a sneer to your tone when you call me... that."

Rollo tipped his head to one side and looked at her, as he might a strange bug he'd found crawling out of an apple. "Very well, Kara, how is it that my nephew was oblivious to your presence?"

Admitting that she was between two worlds whilst standing out in the cold, still damp, morning light on the shore of the great fjord, left Kara feeling more exposed than she was comfortable with.

"No one in this realm can see me, save for you. And I can not return to Valhalla without you, so I am stuck. Such was the whim of Odin for my punishment."

"So, you heal me and you become a Valkyrie again?"

"Not...exactly."

"You don't strike me as the coy type, Val.. Kara. Come on, out with it."

"It's not just about healing you. You have to… forgive me."

Rollo threw his head back and laughed until she thought he might land on his backside in the shingle. "Forgive you, Valkyrie? Never. I have endured agony, I endure it still, all because of your grasping nature. At the best of times I am not a man who forgives easily."

"You would dismiss the idea so readily?"

Rollo hooked his arm around his staff and leant his weight against it. His grin was lecherous. "I might be… persuaded."

Might he, indeed. Well, she damn well wasn't going to play to his suggestive words, at least, not in the way that he thought.

Kara paused, looked at Rollo, watching his leer grow, and then began to walk towards him. She stepped lightly and made her hips sway, as she had watched maidens do at the festival of Ostara when they wanted to attract a mate. As she had known they would, his eyes were drawn to her body. He didn't see her slip her arms behind her back. He didn't see her snag the small knife from her belt. He didn't see her make the quick slice across her palm. All this she did before she reached him.

By the time she was standing before him, almost close enough that their bodies were touching, Rollo was panting like a hound in the sun.

"Here, Rollo Lothbrook, let me… persuade you."

Swift as an eagle snatching a salmon from a river, Kara slipped her hand into the open neck of Rollo's tunic and smeared her blood over his left shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

This was no gentle healing. Rollo's gut churned and his vision blurred with the effort to stay conscious, as molten lava ran from his shoulder to the very tips of his fingers. He gritted his teeth; he would not cry out—he couldn't stand to be thought of as weak. Especially by her.

Kara pulled her hand away and swayed. "So… much… pain. Oh Rollo, I'm so sorry."

"Kara." He had no idea why he had been compelled to speak her name out loud.

Her knees buckled and she collapsed in a heap at his feet. Well, shit. He poked her with his staff. "Kara?". Rollo bent his left arm experimentally, the pain was now just a dull ache, and the limb was atrophied and still felt weak, but it also felt… normal. He poked her again. "Kara?" There was no response so, supporting himself on his staff, he crouched down beside her. "Now would be a good time to turn into a raven, Valkyrie. Of my four limbs, only one works properly."

Kara's eyelids fluttered, and the air thickened. Rollo picked her up by the leg, and struggled to his feet. "Do not shit everywhere." He crossed back over the threshold and dropped her onto the floor next to his bed. Sitting down heavily, he raised his eyes to the rafters. "What am I supposed to do with her, Odin?"

"Rollo?"

He hadn't noticed her changing. Rollo smirked as she struggled to a sitting position. "You're not very good at this, are you?"

"I'm a Valkyrie, Rollo. I take the essence of the fallen, I'm not meant to give it away." She ran her hand across her forehead. "It weakens me."

He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her up onto his pallet. "Why did you? What made you think you could heal me? Or did you not care? Is that it, Valkyrie? Were you so envious of Freya, that you would rather I spend my days as a burden on others, than let her have me? Are all the maidens in Valhalla like you? Because if they are, I'm not sure I'm so eager to get there."

"And you, Rollo? What of you? Why is it that you strive so hard to get noticed on the battle field? Could it be that you all you desire is to outshine your brother? Do you not want his fame? His position?" Her eyes narrowed. "Lagertha?"

"Close your mouth, bitch." Like a serpent striking, his hand shot out and he grabbed her throat. Rollo squeezed, just enough to let her feel his power. "You know nothing about me."

She was weak-he could feel it- but her eyes flashed defiantly. _Brave little imp._ "I know you, Rollo Lothbrok. On the battlefield no one is braver or more magnificent. But away from it, you are a boorish, stubborn, arrogant _pig." _She laughed-he had his hand around her throat, and she laughed-Rollo growled at her disrespect, but she just laughed louder. "Your arm is much improved, I see."

~o0o~

If she hadn't recently endured the storm, with its icy shards of rain and it's wild, biting winds Kara would have called a curse on Rollo Lothbrok and happily flounced off to make her own way in this realm, alone. She could easily find a ruined cottage to inhabit. There was the small matter of no one but Rollo being able to see her, but the lighting of a hearth fire by a hand unseen would spread rumours of a ghost, which would at least ensure that she would be left alone. She would not be in danger from marauding thieves, since none could see her.

She saw no reason why she should put up with Rollo's capricious and childish temper.

But she had endured the storm, and she had hated every sodden second of it.

She hadn't hated it enough to allow Rollo to strangle her.

But she missed Valhalla and its never-ending summertime. She missed the laughter of her sisters. She missed the bawdy revelry of the warriors. She missed warmth and friendship. She missed feeling like she belonged.

Now she was reliant on the whim of this… this… ass. She was beholden to his capacity to forgive her.

Kara had thought herself miserable when she had sat under the dripping pine bough, but she found new depths to her despair now. The very last thing she wanted was Rollo's forgiveness, because he did not deserve the effort she would have to make to earn it. But without it, she was forever barred from her home and her family.

Kara hadn't even realised that the first tear had fallen when the others spilled from her eyes and flowed down her cheeks.

~o0o~

Rollo withdrew his hand. How could she go from laughing to crying in a blink of an eye? He'd always believed that women were slightly insane, and clearly Valkyries were no different.

"Stop that."

"I can't." Her eyes shimmered. "All I wanted…." Kara gulped and her sobbing intensified. "I just want to go home."

"Fine." He pushed himself to his feet, and shuffled to the table. "I forgive you. There, I've said it, now fuck off back to where you came from." The sobs turned to wails, and now there was snot. No wonder Odin was so eager to get rid of her. Rollo poured some ale into a cup and held it out to her. "Here, drink this, and wipe your nose."

Kara sniffed and took the cup. "I hate it here." She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "And I hate you."

He hated her too. He would hate her until the day he died. So no one could have been more surprised than Rollo, when he sat back down and pushed her hair away from her face. "Poor little imp."

He didn't want his eyes to meet hers as she looked up at him; didn't want to admit to himself that she had power over him. He focussed on the fingers on his left hand as they curled into a fist. "Does it hurt you to heal me?"

"Yes… No…. I don't know." She took a deep shuddering breath. "I… I don't know how to explain it to you. I don't even understand it myself. "When… when my essence enters you, there is a moment when I don't know where I end and you begin. I… I feel everything you feel." Her eyes shone in the dim light. "I _am_ sorry for what I did to you, Rollo."

He could kiss her now. He could run his fingers through those soft tresses and force his tongue between those soft, pink lips. He could run his hands along her body and feel her skin under his fingertips. She wouldn't resist as he ripped apart her trews. She would be wet for him. He could…

No!

Rollo stood so abruptly, he nearly pitched forward onto his face. She was doing this to him. She was playing with him. Using trickery and magic to bend him to her will. He curled his lip as she gazed up at him. She may have been an immortal, but she was still a woman. And he'd never met one who wasn't a calculating, manipulative, whore.

"Enough of this! You do not get to play your games with me, Valkyrie. I…."

"Rollo? Who are you talking to?"

Rollo turned to the door so quickly, he nearly fell over his own feet. "I…." The air thickened, and he pointed to the furs on his bed. "A… a raven. Why are you back so soon?"

Bjorn exchanged a look with his mother. "You were talking to a raven?"

"It flew in, I can't get it to leave." Thor, he sounded so pathetic.

"So, kill it." Lagertha picked up an iron poker.

Kara squawked and Rollo stepped in front of her. "No. I… I think I'll keep her - it. It will be company for me when you are away."

"You wish to keep a raven for company?" Rollo would've liked to slap the smirk from his nephew's face. "Does _she_ have a name?"

"I shall call her…" Rollo grinned. "Imp."

Lagertha sighed and shook her head. "Well we'll be here for at least another day, there's another storm approaching and the pass is already flooded. So you'll have no need for the companionship of a bird."


	8. Chapter 8

"_You will never regain your strength laying on your back, drinking ale all day." _

If he'd thought Kara, the Valkyrie was irritating, it was a mere drop in the ocean compared to Kara the raven. Rollo glared up into the rafters and pushed himself to his feet. As a storm, bigger than the last, raged outside, he was trapped with Lagertha and Bjorn, while being constantly being nagged by a fucking raven.

Rollo wasn't sure how her words reached him, and he wasn't sure how she heard his thoughts, but it was disconcerting, and annoying. Not least because he kept forgetting not to speak out loud, and now Lagertha and her son were convinced he was losing his mind. Maybe he should have tried to explain, but he wasn't Ragnar or Floki-they would never believe a man such as him.

~o0o~

"_What would you have me do then, Imp?"_

Kara had to admit that the options for physical exercise were limited with three people packed into such a small space, four, if you counted her, which no one seemed to. But she wasn't going to admit that to Rollo. Regardless of what she would have him do, she was beginning to become quite fond of the idea of pecking his eyes out for saddling her with that damned nickname.

By the time the storm had blown its anger out, all four adults, even the one who had been perched in the rafters, were sick to the stomach of each other's company. Almost as soon as the rain had turned from hammering shards of ice to a thick misty drizzle, Bjorn and Lagertha had headed back out to Kattegat. Rollo had pointed out that the pass would still be flooded. Lagertha had threatened to black his eyes and had walked out the door without a backward glance.

When the door had slammed shut after Bjorn's equally terse departure, Kara had hopped down from the corner of the rafter that she'd claimed for her own and started flapping at the door.

"Valkyrie! What are you doing? You'll break a wing!"

She needed out of this hovel. She continued her futile attempts to escape. Eventually, Rollo opened the door, looking all the while at her out of the corner of his eyes as if she might well have lost her mind. Kara wasn't so sure that she hadn't. As soon as she was free, she wheeled long and high into the sky. It felt so good to stretch her wings. She caught a draught and glided out across the fjord, before swooping up into the clouds and back down to the forest. She sailed between the trees, letting her wing tips brush the pine needles.

When she swept out of the forest, down to the beach, she saw Rollo. He was standing on the shale, leaning on his staff, searching the skies for her. He'd deny it if she asked, but she knew…She didn't mean to torment him, but she'd been cooped up for so long that he couldn't resist the opportunity to make another circuit over the foam-tipped, iron waters of the fjord.

By the time she landed on the beach, on two legs, he was scowling. Kara sighed. Always with the scowling…

"You took your sweet time, Valkyrie."

"Yes I did. I've been in a form less than an eighth of my natural size for days. You're damn right I took my time."

"And are you satisfied now?"

"Not in the least." Kara planted her fists on her hips, ready to argue to death if she had to. "I'm in dire need of a bath."

"A bath." His lip curled as he looked her up and down. "Well, I suppose what the Valkyrie wants, the Valkyrie gets."

Just once, it would be nice if he could look at her without sneering. "Yes. So if you could show me where the bathhouse is..."

His laugh was cut short by a rasping cough. "There's no bathhouse here, Valkyrie. Look around you. These are humble dwellings. You have a choice. The stream over there, or you walk over that crest. The springs there are warm, I'm sure you'll enjoy them."

"Will you walk with me?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. "If it's not too far."

For the longest time, he searched her face, then smiled as he clearly found what he was looking for. "It is a fair walk. I may need your help."

He was extremely handsome when he smiled. "I will be happy to help you, Rollo." Bracing herself from the pain she knew she'd feel, she laid her hand on his back.

Immediately, Rollo straightened up a little, then frowned at her expression. "That's enough, Kara. If you give too much of yourself, you turn into a sniveling brat. I would hate to have to drown you."

It was probably the nicest thing he'd ever said to her.

~oOo~

It wasn't a long walk to the hot springs, and the climb wasn't especially arduous, but it was the farthest Rollo had walked since that fateful day. As they set out, laden with blankets, the clouds parted and a watery sun showed it's face for the first time in days. And for the first time since Kara had breathed life into him, Rollo felt something other than despair.

Kara's words were no longer in his head and, as she walked in silence next to him, he missed them, in a way. Although all she'd done was nag and whine at him, he'd been privy to her fears and secrets, and it was clear that they were more similar than either cared to admit.

Surreptitiously, he watched her as they walked. He knew her now. Kara the valkyrie, and Kara the mortal, trapped between two realms. Neither one thing or the other.

And he was beginning to think that he understood her situation better than she did.

Aware of his scrutiny, Kara looked up and smiled. "Would it really be so bad, Rollo?"

An image of himself, returning, strong and healthy, from a raid. Kara, standing at the water's edge, a little brighter than the women surrounding her. A smile on those soft, pink lips and her cheeks flushed with desire for him. Rollo swallowed. No it wouldn't be so bad.

His staff slipped in the mud-he hadn't been paying attention-and instinctively, he brought his right leg forward to stop himself from falling as his left knee buckled. If Kara hadn't grabbed him, he would've fallen flat on his face. Again. He straightened up and stood for a moment, waiting for the pain to stop shooting from the middle of his back down to his right thigh.

Another image flashed into his mind's eye: One of him watching as the boats left for the summer raids, and scratching a living with a fucking harpy, who could do no more than keep him alive and prolong his agony.

"Odin must really hate me." He snorted. "Or you."

"He doesn't hate either of us, Rollo." Her hand was still on his arm, rooting him to the spot. "But I do think we are both being punished."

"You told me that I hadn't angered him. Are these more of your lies, Imp?"

"No." Rollo fought the urge to lean closer as she reached out to touch his face. "I didn't think so before, but now I think that maybe Odin is angry with you. You offered yourself to the christian god. Did you really think that that would go unpunished?"

"It meant nothing."

Her laugh wasn't cruel, and her fingers were feather light as they ran down his cheek. "Oh, Rollo. How little you understand about gods."

It _had_ meant nothing.

For as long as he could remember, he'd never had any doubt that his place was at Odin's side. No warrior would ever be more worthy than he. He rested his hand on her shoulder as they resumed their walk, and tried to silence the little voice that was telling him that maybe he had made a mistake that day and Floki had been right all along.

"Perhaps Odin wanted to teach you a lesson." Kara was listening to his thoughts again. "Maybe he wanted you to know how it feels to be a Christian."

"Oh? And how do Christians feel?"

She grinned. "Weak."

He didn't feel weak now, though. Not with his hand on her shoulder, and when he was enveloped in her life force. He returned her grin. "Well whatever his reasons, you and I are tied together, Imp. So I suppose we will have to make the best of it."

"You could start by using my name." She stopped walking and turned to face him. "I'm not an imp."

He could kiss that pout right off her face. Rollo tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. "Yes you are. A beautiful little imp."

~o0o~

"I swear, Rollo Lothbrok, my sisters all have more level moods than you, and they are all of them immortal women."

"You're saying I sound like a woman?"

"I'm saying the change in your temperament makes me dizzy. I never know from one moment to the next whether you hate me, are about to torment me or…"

"Or what?"

"Never mind."

Kara stepped back, but not so far that Rollo would lose his hold on her shoulder. She really did want to bathe, and they'd get to the springs all the quicker if he had more strength in his legs. She tried to turn, but his fingers tightened.

"Tell me, Valkyrie."

"No. I don't want to stand and talk, I want my bath."

She especially didn't want to have to say aloud that sometimes she thought he was about to kiss her. Sometimes, when he looked at her - usually when he'd been amusing himself by teasing her - his smile would dim, just a little, and his eyes would darken and she could swear that he was thinking carnal thoughts.

Rollo frowned at her, he wasn't thinking those carnal thoughts now. He was thinking that she sounded like a petulant child. That was good, maybe he'd drop the subject. His fingers tightened again, and for one stomach-churning moment she thought he was going to hold her in place until she admitted her thoughts.

Their eyes held a heartbeat longer, but when she turned again, he didn't stop her. He didn't take his hand from her shoulder, either. Kara gritted her teeth against the dull ache in the small of her back, the shadow of the pain that Rollo was experiencing. She had offered her aid to him freely, but after such prolonged contact, she was going to need to rest for a while.

As they crested the ridge and started down the path that had been worn into the hillside, the pine trees petered out. Without the dense coverage of the forest, the valley that they were walking down into looked naked. The slopes around them were richly black with peat, but the valley floor was vibrantly green with grass. The hot spring emerged from a point on the opposite hillside, tumbling out from a rocky outcrop and cutting a path through the earth. Over time, he waters had worn themselves a deep, twisting groove. As the stream had worked its way around the terrain, it had developed pools and shallow waterfalls. Steam billowed and misted along the path of the heated water.

Rollo let go of her shoulder about halfway down the slope. The descent didn't require as much effort, but it required more concentration to keep his footing, and he was relying on his staff to keep from slipping. Kara was glad to be relieved of the constant, nagging, pain, but she missed that connection. That was something else that she'd never admit, the way that things low in her stomach tightened and turned when Rollo touched her with anything approaching tenderness, when he played with her hair, when he smiled at her, when his eyes darkened.

Finally, they reached their destination. Rollo took the lead and guided Kara to a particular pool. She could feel the heat of the water, borne on the steaming mist through the cool air.

"This one is deepest." Rollo said, confirming her assumption for his choice.

The banks around the pool, for the most part, were little cliffs of peat capped with tussocks of coarse grass and sprays of smooth and shiny reeds. A body could sit in the water, tucked against the bank, and not be seen. Downstream of the pool, the banking was shallower. Kara could see that she would be able to walk into the water with ease at that point.

She cast about, and seeing a flattish grey rock that stood proud of the damp grass, she set down her bundle of blankets. Kara unbuckled her leather belt and set it on top of the bundle. She dropped down to sit on the rock to pull her boots off, rather than hop around on one foot.

A short cough had her head whipping up to see Rollo grinning down at her, the very picture of amused arrogance. She'd been so intent at finally being able to soak her bones, that she'd forgotten she had company. Kara was about to remark on Rollo's irritating expression, but the words died in her throat as she turned left, and then right, and realised that there was absolutely no cover to be had for privacy whilst she undressed.

~o0o~

Grinning, Rollo unbuckled his cloak and laid it on the rock next to her. He could feel her discomfort and he relished a fleeting feeling of power. "Thought you wanted to bathe, Valkyrie."

"I…. What are you doing?" Her eyes widened as he pulled his tunic over his head.

"Same as you." He sat on the edge of the rock and pulled off his boots. "It's been a long time since I've had a hot bath. Did you really think I was going to stand here and wait while you bathed?"

"I… I…. Oh."

Rollo stood up and pulled down his trousers. "What's the matter? Have you not seen a naked man before?" As he undressed, he kept his eyes averted. Not out of respect for her, but because it was taking all his concentration to keep his treacherous cock under control. He wasn't going to let her see how she affected him. Gritting his teeth, he tried to conjure up images of a naked Floki fucking a…. Oh, shit! He turned away and, leaning heavily on his staff, limped to the pool.

Stupid cock.

Keeping his back to her, he waded into the steaming pool and closed his eyes as the hot water eased his aching muscles. He could hear Kara as she undressed behind him but he didn't turn around. Rollo allowed himself a small smile-he could feel her annoyance at his apparent disdain. The prideful little imp had wanted him to look. As she grew closer, he waded to the deepest part of the pool, still refusing to look at her.

"Rollo?" A splash told him she was in the water.

No. He wouldn't turn around.

He wouldn't…

He turned and his breath caught in his throat as she smiled at him through the steam. He'd never seen anything as awe inspiring-so indescribably beautiful as the Valkyrie standing before him, with the water lapping around her thighs. As she began to wade towards him, her body erect and her head held high, Rollo felt a wave of panic wash over him. He hated that she held him in her thrall. Hated the power she held over him.

If he'd been thinking straight, he would've realised that taking a deep breath and plunging his head under the water, with his chest as damaged as it was, was a stupid thing to do. But Rollo wasn't thinking straight.

Rollo wasn't thinking at all.


	9. Chapter 9

Kara absolutely refused to be outdone. If Rollo could affect such nonchalance about disrobing in front of her, then so could she. Except, it was impossible to make her point when he refused to look at her. And she wanted him to look at her. Naked Rollo had been quite the sight, quite a… disturbing sight. He wasn't as nonchalant as he liked to pretend. Kara had sensed the opportunity for a little revenge.

And then he'd gone and ducked under the water, and now he'd been under long enough that she was beginning to worry that he'd drowned. She was about to dip under the surface herself to start to search for him, because - damn him - he couldn't drown himself without first explaining why his look of desire had turned to one of abject fear. And if he denied that he'd been afraid she would have to call him a liar.

The rippling surface of the pool broke and Rollo shot up into the mist, coughing and spluttering. Kara went to him, to help him, he was choking on air, but he staggered back, out of her reach, one shaking palm held up to ward her off. Feeling bewildered and rejected, Kara sunk down so that her shoulders were barely covered by the warm, loamy waters and shrunk back against one of the bankings, almost hiding under the grassy outcrop. She heard large watery noises, and more coughing, but she didn't look up. If she looked up Rollo might see that there were tears spilling down her cheeks, and she would not admit that she was crying. She sunk further into the water until it was lapping at her chin.

There was more splashing, but she still would not look up. The coughing had stopped, Rollo would probably be able to bath without immortal assistance.

"Come here, Imp."

Kara still didn't lookup. She didn't see why she should respond at all to such a command and that damnable nickname.

"Imp."

His voice was disturbingly close. If she didn't look up of her own accord, she was sure that he'd make her. She didn't want him to touch her, not after he'd recoiled from her like that.

She raised her head, but stayed low in the water. "What?"

"Come here. Your hair needs washing."

He must have been on his knees in the water, it covered him modestly. He was brandishing a comb and a small brick of soap at her.

"I don't need lye soap to brighten my hair, thank you." How dare he assume she would need to stoop to such trickeries of vanity.

"No, but you do need to keep the lice at bay in this realm." He was grinning at her now. His mood had turned through a night and a day again.

"Lice?" Kara wrinkled her nose at the unfamiliar term.

"Little bugs that crawl through your hair and itch like Loki's arsehole."

"Ewwww."

"Exactly. So turn around and hold still."

Kara had no idea how Rollo knew anything about Loki's arsehole, but Lice sounded like something she did not want to experience, ever, so she did as she was told and turned away from him.

"You're going to need to raise up a little, Valkyrie. My poor, aged back won't stoop that far for so long."

With a resigned sigh, Kara went to her knees in the water. Rollo was so much taller than she, the water hit him at waist level. On her, it just barely brushed the underside of her breasts. Her nipples tightened in the cooler air, even the clammy mist couldn't hope to mimic the heat of the pool itself.

There was movement in the water, as he lathered his hands, she supposed. When he laid those great paws on her head, she jumped a little.

"Calm, Valkyrie." He'd made an attempt to make his rough voice soothing. Kara did her best to hold still as instructed.

As she became used to the touch, she almost fell asleep to the rhythm of Rollo's long, strong fingers working across her scalp. The lye burnt a little, but it was a paltry sting compared to most of the pain that Rollo had shared with her, it was easily ignored. She realised that Rollo was humming as he worked, a saga about warriors sailing across stormy seas in search of battles and honour.

She was roused a little when he switched to combing out the tangles from her hair with the shaft of carved bone. She appreciated his efforts to be gentle. She hadn't had much opportunity of late to undertake and personal grooming, and her curls were knotted and matted in places. It took him some time, but his patience for the task seemed infinite.

"Your turn." His voice sounding in the stillness of the day would have shocked her right out of the pool if it hadn't been so gruff.

"Sorry?" She didn't understand his meaning. She turned to face him, a frown creasing her brow.

"I need help, and since the reason that I don't have full use of my arm is your fault, Valkyrie, the assistance should be yours."

"I healed your arm."

"I still need help with this, I can't keep it raised for as long as it will take to get this clean." He plucked at a hank of greasy hair.

She couldn't very well argue after the time he'd spent making thorough work of her own lank mess of knots. "Very well," she sighed. "Turn around."

Rollo obeyed. He was kneeling in the water, but she couldn't reach the crown of his head, so she stood. The air was cool across her damp skin. Water beaded on the gooseflesh that pimpled her torso and arms.

Kara cupped handfuls of water over Rollo's hair, making an effort not to let it cascade over his face. She reached for the soap that Rollo had tossed to the banking when he'd started working the suds through her hair. She lathered her hands and fingers thoroughly, tossed the soap back to it's resting place, and got to work.

~o0o~

Rollo closed his eyes as her fingers massaged his scalp, and wondered how they'd look wrapped around his cock. He clenched his jaw. He wasn't a man used to showing restraint, but a rare streak of self preservation was telling him that forcing himself on a Valkyrie would probably have dire consequences.

"Talk to me, Imp." She tugged at a lock of his hair and he chuckled. "Kara."

"What about?"

More disconcerting than her life force that held him in it's embrace-Rollo had almost become used to that-was the fact that, every so often, her tits would brush against the back of his head. He needed a distraction, or he was going to find out, first hand, what happened if a mortal fucked a Valkyrie.

"You. What are you, Kara?" He was filled with a sadness, so overwhelming that his eyes watered. Rollo coughed. "Don't show me. Tell me."

He didn't have to turn around to know that she was crying. "I don't know anymore. Sometimes, I feel like my old self, but my old self never felt hungry, or cold." Her fingers stopped moving as they found an old scar. "Or pain. How can you bear it?"

Rollo became aware of a familiar quickening-she was trying to heal him again. He didn't want her to stop touching him, but knew that what she was trying to do, was impossible. Reluctantly he turned and sank, once more, under the water.

He'd all but forgotten about the wound on his head. It had been the first of many that had nearly cost him his life. Rollo resurfaced and pushed himself through the water to the deepest part of the pool, his eyes never leaving hers. With the water reaching his waist and supporting his legs, he could stand with the illusion of strength. He pulled himself up to his full height and held out his hand. "Come here, Imp."

He'd half expected her to argue, but Kara had wordlessly capitulated. She stood before him, those impossibly blue eyes shimmering in the weak sunlight, and he cupped her face in his hands. "You cannot heal all my hurts, Valkyrie. Nor do I want you to. They make me the man I am."

"You want to be in pain?"

"Not really. But but every injury I've ever acquired has made me a better warrior. And I'm not always in pain, Kara. It goes away when I'm fighting." He grinned. "Or fucking."

~o0o~

"Oh." The surprised sound slipped out before she could catch it, which was possibly a good thing. Most definitely a good thing, but… no, there was no holding it back. Suddenly she was furious. "And who have you been fucking to find that out?"

"Imp…"

"Don't you 'Imp' me Rollo Lothbrok! Here I am in this freezing, miserable, godsforsaken realm doing my best to heal you…"

"Kara…"

"When was it? Before I dropped into your worthless half-life and started making something of it for you? Did Bjorn send you one of the wenches from Kattegat? Hmmm? Perhaps it was while the storm was blowing and I was stuck in a fucking pine tree, on my own, cold, wet and fucking miserable. Were you by the fire…"

Her tirade was cut off by Rollo's mouth descending on hers. At first Kara didn't understand, she felt only trapped. She struggled to free herself, pushing at Rollo's chest with her palms. Eventually, she resorted to a jolt of healing energy to his shoulder. As much as it would hurt her, and she did wince and cry out, she knew the pain would distract him from… whatever it was that he was trying to do.

"Damn it, Valkyrie!" He was clutching at his shoulder, but Kara was still boiling with rage.

"Of all the ungrateful, ill-mannered, fucking downright obstinate…"

"Come here you fucking harridan."

He was angry, too. She could feel the emotion pouring off him like scalding water. Kara didn't have time to wonder if he was angry in his own mind or channelling her frustrated rage because those immensely strong hands had hold of her and they were not letting go.

His fingers dug into the flesh of her hips, and Kara yelped at the pain as much as the surprise when he pulled her against his body. His shaft was hard, and hotter than the warm waters of the stream. It was digging into her stomach and… twitching, as she writhed to get loose.

"Stop fucking twisting like that."

His voice was lower than a bear's growl. Kara yelped again when he grabbed a handful of her hair close to her scalp and yanked her head back. She kept pushing at him, but his hold on her changed. He let go of her hip, but before she could take the opportunity, that iron band of an arm, the one he still had full use of, was wrapped across her back.

"I said stop struggling, Valkyrie." The words were all but gritted out.

"Why?" Kara gasped. "So you can make use of me like one of your common whores?"

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Valkyrie."

"Aaahh." He'd pulled on her hair again. "I'm not jealous." She wasn't. She was not jealous. He could fuck all the wenches in Kattegat if he wanted, but he could do it with half of his limbs because she'd fondle Loki's balls before she'd heal Rollo just so he could dip his cock in whatever willing… and was the bastard smiling on top of it all?

"Of course not."

When she started to struggle again, Rollo grunted, and then he caught her ankle with one of her own and snagged her leg so that she tumbled back into the water. But he still had hold of her. If he hadn't been holding her so tightly, when he went to his knees, with the water being deeper on this side of the pool, she would have gone under. But now she was trapped against his chest and she had no leverage to give power to her arms.

~o0o~

Rollo grinned. And let her go.

Kara fell back and disappeared under the water. He reached down and, grabbing her arm, pulled her back up and held her arm until their feet were under them.

With hindsight, maybe he should have left her and put some distance between them. As soon as she found her footing, Kara swung wildly with her right fist and caught a glancing blow on his chin. "How dare you!" She pushed him, hard enough to make him take a step back."HOW DARE YOU!"

Gods, she was magnificent. Rollo only narrowly avoided the next punch, so enthralled was he with this, beautiful, naked, angry woman. He grinned. "Definitely jealous."

"I am not jealous. Do you really think I'd care who a man such as you, has fucked? I am a Valkyrie and you, Rollo Lothbrok, are not worthy. You need to remember your place."

He was sure that, in her head, her departure was far more dignified. Rollo folded his arms and smirked as she slipped on the bank in her haste. He was enjoying himself so much, that he failed to notice her pick up his staff, and it was only when she covered herself in his cloak, and bundled up all his clothes, that he grew concerned. "Fuck…. Kara."

Ignoring him, she marched towards a deep ravine and dropped his clothes and staff into it's bottomless depths.


	10. Chapter 10

**A.N.**

**As you may be aware, if you've read my Author Profile, (and if you haven't—my bad, I've been remiss and should have mentioned it earlier.) This story is a collaboration between myself and the amazingly talented Mucky Shroom. In all other chapters, the writing is split between us, in a more or less, equal fashion, with each of us jumping in whenever we felt like it. **

**This chapter, however is all Mucky. Because, well, how could I interrupt this? **

She'd intended to storm off, head held high, and let Rollo Lothbrok figure out how to get his naked, lame, self back to the cottage. He would see then how well he could manage without her. But by the gods it was cold out of that water. Rollo's cloak was saving her from the worst of it, but it would be a long walk in bare feet. She sat on the rock, making sure to keep the cloak between the frigid stone and her backside, and began to tug her boots on.

"Imp!"

She ignored the scrambling, cursing and splashing as Rollo dragged himself over the banking. His arm really was much stronger, although he seemed too angry to realise how much use he was making of it. Kara wasn't worried about Rollo catching her, she could still outrun him, even on her worst day.

But when she looked up, she froze.

Kara had seen berserkers. They were not just a myth to her. She'd seen them in Valhalla, she'd watched them fight on the battlefield. She'd seen the berserk madness descend and rob all sense and feeling from the warrior it possessed. And what she was seeing now was a furious, naked, aroused berserker heading her way.

Kara dropped the boot she'd been trying to pull on over her wet skin and sprang up, backing away from the beast whose clothes and only means of support she'd just dropped into a ravine.

And promptly tripped over the cloak.

Rollo's cloak was yards of material longer than her own. It twisted around her ankles, as if in collusion with its owner, preventing her from getting her feet under her. She resorted to trying to scuttle backwards like an upturned spider, but the damn thing was caught under her heels and the fastening at her neck damn near strangled her. Kara fought with the clasp, trying to free herself. It popped open, and the cloak fell from her shoulders, at roughly the same moment that Rollo dropped his great bulk onto her.

"Bitch! How dare you?!"

"How dare I? How dare you? How dare you presume that I would care even the tiniest bit..."

Again Rollo silenced her with a kiss, although kiss was a tame word to describe the way he was devouring her. She couldn't get away, between the weight of the man lying on her, and the solid, unyielding ground at her back, she was trapped. When she tried to push him off, he kissed her harder and flexed his hips, a reminder, as if she needed it, that he was naked. She tried to scratch him, tried to drag her damnably short nails down his ribs, tried to shock him with healing again, but he was wise to that trick now. Rollo grunted, caught her wrists, and pinned them over her head.

Kara had a horrible feeling that she had tossed a wasps nest into the cave of a sleeping bear, and that she might lose this fight.

~o0o~

Fucking Valkyrie, throwing his clothes away like that. And his staff! He needed his staff. Damned prideful imp. He should beat her for such impudence. His cock twitched at that thought, reminding him that the Valkyrie was naked beneath him. If he did beat her, if he turned her over his knee, that pale skin would pinken deliciously with every slap of his hand... His cock jerked again, letting him know that it was in perfect with agreement with that plan.

But the vicious little imp was twisting again and trying to get her legs free, no doubt to try and aim a knee at his bollocks. Rollo shifted his grip so that he had both of her wrists trapped with one hand, uncaring if doing so hurt those delicate bones, and reached down to grip her hip, to hold her down and keep her still.

"You'll not unman me today, Valkyrie."

"I don't need to." She hissed. "I managed that already. If I ran, you couldn't chase me."

Rollo couldn't help it, he had to laugh. "I don't see you running, Imp. I don't see you going anywhere. It seems you're at my mercy."

"Fuck you, Rollo."

"Finally, you're offering." Rollo laughed again. He could find humour in the situation, especially now the spitting-mad harpy was pinned.

Kara twisted again, trying to get loose of his hold, but when she moved her leg and bucked, damn! His cock slid against hot, wet flesh. Rollo grunted at the same time that Kara gasped, almost a sob, and stilled completely. Suddenly, Rollo didn't want to fight any more.

"You should offer, Valkyrie." Since he was fighting his body, which didn't understand why it couldn't just sink into the place it most wanted to be, which was right there, his voice was rough with effort. "You should offer to make up for stealing my place in Valhalla."

Kara had been, no doubt, about to spit out a venomous reply, but when he dipped his head to nuzzle at the skin of her neck, that sensitive spot just under the ear, her harsh words died on an exhale.

"You should offer, for nagging me every minute of the day for weeks." Rollo sucked at the tender skin where her neck joined her shoulder. She tasted so sweet, like honey.

"You should offer to make up for throwing my clothes, and my staff away." He licked a trail down to the pink-tipped peak of one breast. "You should offer, because you want to."

~o0o~

Kara had been about to adamantly declaim that no, she didn't want him to, but then he caught her nipple between his lips and began to suckle. Dear gods the way his beard brushed over her skin and… oh… Rollo pulled back, sucking harder on her nipple, drawing it out as he pulled away from her breast with it still caught…

"See."

Thor's hammer the man took smug to a whole new arena.

"Well of course." Her ire would sound more effective if it didn't sound like she'd just swum across the fjord. "Show me how all that practice has benefited you."

"Be as arrogant as you like, Kara. Your body wants this."

He flexed his hips again and his burning shaft seared over her traitorously wet flesh.

"But I don't."

"Stop fighting me, Kara." He sounded tired now, rather than smug. That was an immense improvement in her situation. "You were… are jealous, at the thought of other women in my bed."

Her denial died as he paid the same attention to her other breast. This time he nipped around her peak, before sucking it like he was a babe feeding. It was bad enough when she thought of him bestowing such attention on Siggy, a woman he had actually cared for, or Lagertha, woman he'd lusted after for years; but when Kara thought of Rollo expending such skill to ensure the pleasure of any girls with large breasts and a come-hither smile, a murderous rage filled her.

"You forget Valkyrie, I can feel what you're feeling when we're this close."

"I will not simply be another notch on your bedpost, Rollo. So you best release me know."

"Who said you would be, Valkyrie?"

It would be far easier to maintain this discussion if Rollo wasn't lapping at the skin of her neck as if she were some delicious morsel.

"You'll use me for my power to heal you, to get you into Valhalla, then you'll be chasing anything that can raise it's skirt." That was her genuine fear, that he would make her crave him, and that then he would abandon her, like the callous bastard he was.

"I don't think so, Kara. I think I'm as trapped as you are."

~o0o~

Rollo knew, with absolute certainty, that no other woman would ever taste as mouth-watering as this. He could fuck everything with a pair of tits until his cock dropped off, and he would never experience this again. When his cock, which was tired of being thwarted, made it's impatience known, Kara's gasp flew out and became something of a moan.

He tasted the skin of her neck again as he cupped the weight of one of those beautiful breasts in his palm, letting his life-roughened skin rasp over the stiff peak again, and again, and again…

"Rollo." Kara's gasp was half denial, half encouragement.

"Shhh, Valkyrie. I don't think I've thanked you yet for healing me." He wasn't sure that she'd heard the words, since he'd muttered them almost into her hair, but it didn't matter. She'd stopped trying to get herself free. Now, when he trailed his fingers over her ribs, her waist, over her hip, over her thigh, and found that place that his cock was so enthusiastically adamant about filling, she arched, her back bowing off the ground.

"Thank you." Rollo whispered at her ear, as he plunged two fingers into her hot sheath. By the gods she was tight, and wet. His cock jerked and ached, impatient at being left out of the games.

"Rollo." That gasp was definitely all encouragement.

He let go of her wrists without even thinking about it. Only when her hands went to his neck did he think he's made a mistake, did he wonder if she wasn't about to strangle him or gouge at his eyes, but then those delicately strong fingers were buried in his hair again, the short nails raking over his scalp in that way that made his blood fizz. Rollo flexed his fingers and worked her harder, moving faster, pressing the heel of his hand to the little nub that was the key to all good things.

"Rollo." She was pleading now. but Rollo felt no satisfaction in that, or at least, not as much as he had thought that he would. He removed his hand, chuckling at the small sound of disappointment that she made, then he drew his hips back and set his cock at her entrance.

"Rollo!" That gasp was filled with fear. Rollo stopped, poised, completely still, as if he'd had a pail of iced water thrown over his back.

~o0o~

"You stopped." Kara gasped.

"You asked me to." Rollo grated. He dropped his head to rest on her shoulder. His breaths were coming in large gasps, but he hadn't moved that part of him from that part of her, it was so hot, and so terrifyingly big.

Kara tucked her face into his hair, trying to hide the blush that filled her cheeks. "Rollo, I haven't… ever..."

His head snapped up then. Shock flashed across his face, maybe anger, and then awe, which surprised her. "You're a virgin? How?"

"We all are." How did he not know this, or maybe he hadn't been paying attention to the skald's ballads.

"Then I need to apologise again, Valkyrie."

She was asking why but the words died on her lips as he began to push into her. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt, but then then his fingers hadn't felt anything like the times that she'd brought herself pleasure. She'd seen his shaft, not to stare at, but enough to get an idea of its size. It had seemed big enough as he'd undressed before their bath, but it felt much bigger now.

She couldn't wrap her head around enough thoughts to describe what she was feeling, the pleasurable stretch, the frustrating pressure, the way that the whole new maddening sensation made her want to rock her hips against him. She just knew that moving would make everything feel a hundred times better, so she rolled her hips.

"Damn you. Keep still."

Rollo was still holding himself over her, the muscles in his arms were twitching with the effort and sweat was beginning to bead on his brow.

"Why?" Kara didn't really want an answer. She was busy encouraging the feeling that was growing in a very particular place.

"Because."

Rollo flexed his hips and that wondrous feeling that had been beginning to smoulder died in flames of pain that ripped through her as he thrust his cock completely into her.

~o0o~

Rollo dropped his head, partly because the strain of holding it up when he was fighting against every instinct in his body was becoming too great, and partly in shame, because the look of agony, shock and fear that filled Kara's wide blue eyes was too much for him to bear.

Who was he to take the virtue of a Valkyrie, a demi-goddess, sister of Freya. He wasn't even a whole man, let alone the warrior that he had been.

But no, he was Rollo Lothbrok, and the woman beneath him was a Valkyrie, gifted to him by Odin himself. Kara was proof that he had earned his place in by Odin's side, he just had more work to do. As that pride returned, the awareness that his body didn't ache the way it usually did, began to edge into his consciousness. Of course, it ached in new and different ways at this current moment. His cock was about to mutiny and take control of its own destiny if he denied it any longer, because the sheath encasing it, gripping it, was the tightest, hottest and possibly silkiest that he'd ever experienced. He knew he needed to let Kara get used to this new feeling, get used to his size, before he started to move, but it was becoming harder to remain still.

"I'm sorry." Rollo breathed into the silken curls that were spread out across the grass like rays from the sun. He had known it would be an enchanting sight, he feared now that it had ruined him. It was better than all his imaginings. He pulled back, and then thrust again.

Kara gasped. Rollo prayed to Odin for the patience and restraint that he knew he did not possess, and began to move. He tried to keep his strokes even. He tried not to thrust too hard or too fast, despite all the urges that would have him gather her body close and plunge into her as if the world were ending.

But when Kara began to move with him, Rollo lost his battle for control.

~o0o~

At first it had hurt like nothing she could have ever imagined, and she'd beyond grateful when he'd held still. Kara couldn't imagine what mortals saw in this act that they would fight wars, that they would kill each other, that they would endure almost anything for the opportunity to perform it. She'd stopped trying to fight him, there was no ways she'd be able to push him off and not just because he was bigger than she. He wanted to be there. He wanted her. He hadn't said so aloud, but she'd wager he didn't apologise to that many maidens.

And then, as he'd begun to move, as the chaffing had eased, as his hot breath had gasped over the skin of her neck, Kara had begun to feel something other than pain, something that might very well become pleasure. With each draw and push of his body, Kara became more and more greedy until she couldn't help but move herself, couldn't help but urge him on.

She had her fingers buried in the muscles of his shoulders, her legs wrapped around his waist like a tart, and she never wanted it to end. The feeling of lightning, the thunderous pleasure, the sparks and tingles, began to expand in her, to grow, and set fire to her blood, and… and… and … and… Kara cried out as she flew apart, as the world fell into darkness and light, as the pleasure stole her breath. She wrapped herself still tighter around Rollo, hanging on for dear life as he lost control.

~o0o~

Dear gods he felt her coming, felt that wet silk pulse over and over again around his cock, saw the pink flush colour that moon-pale skin, saw those eyes that held the whole sky widen before they were screwed shut against pleasure. He no longer cared if he hurt her, his body was adamant about its own needs. She didn't seem to care either, she was panting, gasping, moaning. He could feel the pulses of her orgasm turn into something else, something stronger, and he knew she was climbing again.

"That's it... come for me, Valkyrie." He grated into her neck as the pressure in his back, balls and belly exploded and shot through his limbs, shot out of his cock in a pulsing wet rush, filling the willing body that gripped it so sweetly, tearing a roar out of his chest in its wake.


	11. Chapter 11

Rollo rolled off her and lay on his back, panting hard. "I have to say, Imp. With a little practice, you could be a decent fuck."

If she thought her legs could hold her, Kara would've jumped up and stamped on his face. Unfortunately all her limbs had been turned to water and even turning her head to look at him, made her vision swim. "It didn't help you."

His mouth turned up into a grin and he reached out and found her hand. Kara almost jumped out of her skin at his touch, then relaxed as his feeling of contentment washed over her. She should be angry. He'd forced himself on her. He'd defiled her. He'd…. He'd made her…

She could feel his amusement at her attempt at indignation-it was becoming harder and harder to hide her feelings from him. Letting go of her hand, he turned on to his side and raised himself onto one elbow. He laid his free hand on her cheek. "It was just a fuck, Kara. We both knew it had to happen, and don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."

The cold was starting to encroach on the warm languidity, and, yet again, Rollo had turned into an arrogant arsehole. Kara slapped his hand away. "Have you ever even tried to be nice?"

His laugh reawoke those, still tingling and slightly sore, parts, deep inside her. "I'm a berserker, Imp. I wasn't put on this earth to be nice."

"Well, I suggest you try." Kara sat up and began to scramble to her feet. "Because I can assure you, that if you don't, it won't be happening again."

"Kara."

She ignored him and started to pull on her clothes. What a fool she'd been, giving herself so easily.. so willingly to him. She needed his forgiveness, needed him to take her as his woman. Needed him to love her enough to want her at his side, until the end of time.

"Kara."

It didn't matter how many times she told herself that she'd had no choice, Kara knew she'd opened her legs as eagerly as one of his whores. She had wanted him, and Rollo had known it.

"Kara!"

She should have made him wait until he was crazed with desire, until he was so entranced by her that he would have agreed to anything. She should have….

"Kara!"

With a sigh, she turned around. Rollo was laying, flat on his back on the steaming mud, with a stupid grin, and a massive erection.

"I'm stuck." He didn't look, in the slightest way, perturbed by his predicament. "All the blood seems to have gone to my cock."

"Then you can stay there until it returns to your limbs." She pulled her tunic over her head and fastened her belt. "You can stay there and rot, for all I care."

"And you can prowl this realm, unseen." He lifted his head slightly and squinted at her. "All the time dreaming of my big fat cock inside you."

She had to admit, he had a point. But Kara wasn't going to let him off that easily. She snorted. "You flatter yourself, Rollo Lothbrok. It really isn't that impressive."

~oOo~

Rollo really was stuck. All his ills had disappeared when he was inside her, but now they were back with a vengeance, and he didn't even have the strength to sit up. If Kara abandoned him now, there was a good chance he'd be dead before anyone found him.

His stupid cock obviously didn't care about the situation he found himself in, and sprang back to life at the sight of the Valkyrie as she dressed herself. And it didn't care that it was going to anger her more.

He hated to do this, but he needed Kara's help. "Please, Kara."

She walked towards him and crouched down. "Why should I help you?"

She shouldn't. He'd forced himself upon her. He'd hurt her. If she turned her back on him, he'd have no one to blame but himself. Kara was right, he wasn't worthy. He didn't deserve her compassion. He forced himself to look into those fathomless pools of blue. He was going to have to apologize. Again.

"I'm sorry."

"What for? For bullying me? For all the insults?" She leaned closer. "For raping me?"

He swallowed down a retort-that had been no rape, and she knew it. He'd felt what she'd felt. They had been so intertwined that he hadn't known which were her feelings, and which were his own. He knew that if she'd wanted him to stop, he would have been no more capable of continuing than he was able to stand. But he had wanted to exert his strength over her, had wanted to prove to both of them that she didn't hold him in her thrall.

But the fact was, she did.

He was laying, flat on his back, naked in oozing mud, and was more vulnerable than he'd ever been in his life. "I'm sorry for everything."

Kara sighed, then kissed him.

Rollo felt his body arch as his poor, beleaguered lungs filled with air and blood rushed to his limbs. "Kara."

She hadn't needed to drag him to his feet; her touch was enough. The connection between them was now stronger than ever, and Rollo was acutely aware of how much her aid hurt her. He also knew that if she took her hand away, he would fall back to his knees.

She knew it too as she led him to that flat rock, and waited for him to sit down before retrieving his cloak. Rollo hung his head as she slipped the cloak over his shoulders and fastened the clip. "I will never be whole again, will I?" The despair returned and wormed its way into his heart. "I will never enter Valhalla."

"Yes you will." Her kiss was soft... too soft. And yet it sent his head spinning with want for her. "With me at your side."

Even leaning heavily on Kara and with her hand on his back, Rollo needed all his concentration just to put one step in front of the other. His bare feet snagged small rocks and roots as they dragged along the ground, and were numb with cold. His shoulder was aching after his recent exertions, but was being drowned out by the shooting pains that were running along his spine.

With every step, Rollo's mood grew more sour. How was he ever going to get to Valhalla? Maybe if he was young like Bjorn, there would've been a chance. But soon the last of the ice would be melted, and the raids would begin. Even if he took everything Kara had, he doubted he would even be strong enough to walk unaided to the waters edge to watch them sail away.

Beside him, Kara was concentrating as hard as him. Even if he couldn't feel her pain-an echo of his own-and if her despair wasn't as real to him as his, Rollo would have known by the set of her jaw and downcast eyes. His eyes fell on a fallen tree and he gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I think we need to rest."

~oOo~

While it was a relief to sit for a while, Kara wasn't quite ready to break her connection with him. She removed her hand from his back and, linking her fingers with his, pondered her fate. She'd taken a mortal as a lover, and had denied herself the chance to ever again, collect the fallen. She could no longer call herself a Valkyrie, but she was still an immortal. For now, at least.

Rollo picked up on her mood and kissed her temple. After everything that had happened, that small act of unthinking affection, threw her. That their lives now, were forever linked, could no longer be denied. But she didn't expect him to be happy about it. And if she, was honest, it wasn't something she relished.

"I forgive you."

"What?"

"I forgive you. You don't have to stay, Valkyrie." He ran his thumb across the back of her hand. "We both know that I will never have enough breath inside me to blow a horn, much less fight. My legs…" he curled his lip in disgust, "will never carry me into battle."

"You want me to go?" Kara didn't know whether she was afraid or angry. "You've fucked me, so now you want me gone? I am not one of your whores to be cast aside."

For a fleeting moment, his eyes flashed angrily, but then dulled as he sighed and released her hand. "I'm releasing you of your burdon. I'm setting you free." There was no humour in his laugh. "I'm trying to be nice."

"You don't get to release me of my obligation, Rollo. Only Odin can do that. You and I are bound together until…." Her mouth clamped shut.

Rollo leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. "I will crawl onto the battlefield, if I have to. I will die with my axe in my hand. You have healed me enough, and I forgive you. Your work is done."

"And if I said I wanted to stay?"

"I wouldn't believe you." There was something unnerving about his expression. "_At my side._ What exactly do you mean by that, Valkyrie? What secrets are you still keeping?"

"I… I'm not."

"Ah, there she is." His tone was mocking, but lacked the vitriol that had been there before. "My lying, conniving, little imp." Rollo sat back and stretched with a wince. "I know you're keeping something from me. You try hard to conceal it, but I know you, Imp, and I can feel it."

Sometimes attack is the best form of defence. And Kara didn't think that admitting, that unless he took her with him to Valhalla as his wife, it's great doors would be forever closed to her, was prudent. She drew herself up and lifted her chin. "You will never enter Valhalla without my help. Of course, if you believe yourself healed, now I have your forgiveness, I'm sure Odin will welcome me back with open arms." She stood and kissed him. "And I'm sure he will overlook your little…" she raised an eyebrow. "Indiscretion." She smiled. "Although, I was always one of his favourites. I always brought him the best warriors and now, because of you, I will not be permitted to carry out that task. Still. No matter. You are healed, so you don't need me…" She turned as if to walk away.

"Stop playing games, Imp." He sounded tired. "I have no heart for them."

"This is no game, Rollo."

"No it isn't." His eyes were cold as he pushed himself to his feet and stood on shaky legs. "Look at me. Look what you did to me. Do I not deserve the truth? What did you _really_ mean when you said that it was Odin's wish that we enter Valhalla at each other's side? Tell me, Imp." His hand shot out and he grabbed her hair. "Tell me that what I'm thinking is wrong."

"You're hurting me."

"I'll hurt you more, Valkyrie." He yanked her hair harder. "What is my destiny?"

"I… I told you. You will enter Valhalla with me at your side."

For a moment, she thought he was going to accept what she told him. But then his other hand grabbed her throat. "As what, Imp? As what?"

"As your wife."

He laughed so hard that he had to sit back down and catch his breath. "I have a wife, Imp. And even if I didn't, I would never marry you."

"Then you will never enter my father's halls."

His eyes bored into hers and narrowed. "I don't believe you. I don't need you to enter Valhalla. You need me. That is your punishment." He laughed again. "You must have really angered Odin, because I am telling you now, we will never be married."

"But…" Kara blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall. She would not cry. She was a demi god-an immortal-what man wouldn't want to be married to her? Was she not more beautiful than any woman of this realm? What made him so special, that he thought he had the right to reject her?

"And you can stop that sniveling, Imp." Gods, he was cruel. "I'm wise to your tricks."

All she had to do was walk away. She could shroud herself in raven form and take to the sky. Maybe Odin would forgive her, and even if he didn't, she would survive. She didn't need to saddle herself with this ignorant pig until the end of time. Something fluttered in the pit of her stomach, and she pushed it away. She wouldn't miss the feeling of him inside her.

But he would know what he was rejecting.

"I cannot force you to take me as your wife. And I have no wish to." She smiled as his expression changed. He was far from immune to her power. "Maybe you can heal yourself enough to go back into battle, but you cannot walk down there..." she pointed to the narrow path between the trees, "without my help."

She took a step towards him. "At least accept a parting gift from me."

~oOo~

The part of Rollo that was telling him that the Valkyrie was weaving her magic. That when she had that look in her eye, he was going to pay in some way, was being drowned out by his stupid cock, who didn't care in the slightest. And by a craving that he hadn't experienced for years. Not since he'd tried to drink himself to death following his betrayal of his brother.

Rollo recognised that need. He was never going to forget how, every day, he'd tell himself that, this time, he would stay sober, only to fall into a drunken stupor every night. He hadn't expected to feel it again, but as the Valkyrie bent and brought her mouth close to his, he felt his body crave her essence.

No lips were softer. No breath, sweeter. Rollo closed his eyes as their mouths met and ran his fingers through her hair as she…

No!

Rollo fought as she took her essence from him. The bitch was stealing the very life from him. He pulled his head away, gasping for breath. "You..."

If he had the strength, he'd slap that smug smile off of her face.

"I am a Valkyrie, and you, Rollo, are just a mere mortal. What I deign to give, I can also take away."

Or maybe, fuck her into submission. His cock was in full accord with that plan.

After his initial panic, Rollo realised that she'd actually taken very little from him. And he realised something else. Just as her essence flowed through his veins, now there was something of him inside her. He grinned; she could share his nightmares, now.

He had been genuine in his offer to set her free-for the first time in his sorry life, he'd tried to do the right thing. Even if the thought of a life without her at his side, scared him half to death.

She was arrogant, contradictory, and incited a rage in him like nothing he'd ever experienced. But he'd just had the best sex in his entire life, and there was something else, something he didn't understand . He sat up a little straighter, despite the pain. "I thought you were leaving."

Kara ignored him. Rollo frowned and followed her gaze; walking towards them through the trees, was Siggy and Floki. He grinned at her expression. She didn't look like someone who wasn't jealous.

"Rollo!" Siggy ran to him. "I was so worried." She frowned as she noticed his bare feet and her eyes widened at the realisation that, under his robe he was naked. "What on Earth are you doing? Where are your clothes?"

Rollo was good at a lot of things-he could fight and fuck better than any man-but thinking on his feet wasn't one of them. "I wanted to bathe in the hot springs." He shook his head. "I.. I think the fever returned, I don't remember how I got here."

"_I'm impressed. I didn't think one as ignorant as you was capable of quick thinking." _

To his surprise, Kara hadn't changed form, but he could hear her words as clearly as if she'd spoken out loud. "_Shut up."_

Rollo looked up at his wife and felt… nothing. He smiled and touched her face. "My sweet Siggy, I knew you'd come. I… Arrggh!" He all but convulsed at Kara's touch. "_Go away."_

"_You would reject me for her?"_

"You're freezing." Siggy pulled his cloak around him. "Floki, we have to get him back to the house." She turned. "Floki!"

Floki was staring, unseeing, at Kara. "I thought… Yes, yes." He seemed to pull himself together. "Come, my friend. Let's get you back into the warm."

Rollo allowed himself to be helped to his feet. "_Floki senses you, Imp." _He put his arm around Siggy's shoulders. "I have missed you, Wife." It was taking all his self control not to laugh out loud at his little imp's consternation.

"_Oh, so I'm your imp now?" _

Floki's head shot up. "Can you hear that?"

"I heard nothing. What did you think you heard?"

"I don't know… A whisper."

"Maybe you should stay away from the mushrooms." Rollo suppressed a groan as he tried to lift his left hand to Floki's shoulder, and a gentle warmth from Kara, as she reached out and brushed her hand against his back, eased the pain a little.

Again, Floki stiffened. "Did you feel that?"

"All I can feel is cold, and a strong urge to fuck my wife." Rollo braced himself against the jolt of power, but none was forthcoming. "_Are you coming to watch, Imp?"_


	12. Chapter 12

Kara wasn't surprised that Floki was aware of her presence. If anything, she was surprised that he couldn't see her entirely. The man believed that the trees spoke to him in their rustling whispers, and perhaps they did, he certainly had a gift for ship-building that might have been god-given, not that Odin was owning up to any involvement.

Rollo had obviously decided that bestowing his affections on his wife would irritate Kara, or make her jealous. She might admit in a dark corner of her heart that she was jealous, but there was no way in all the realms that she'd admit as much to Rollo, or let him see it. Rather, she intended to do the opposite. The opportunity to torment him was all the greater when other people were around. He deserved a little recompense for his arrogance.

Kara followed the stumbling trio through the forest. She sang a nonsense song all the way, loud enough to make Rollo wince and trip over his own feet as he tried not to hear a sound that only he could hear. It didn't help that Floki, obviously catching murmurings of noise, kept whipping his head from side to side trying to see where the faint singing was coming from. All the while she stayed behind Rollo,making it impossible for him to turn and look at her unless he wanted to gain a reputation as a mad man.

Her position gave her the chance to observe Rollo and his wife at her leisure. It seemed an odd relationship to Kara, but then, she supposed, she didn't have a great deal of experience in that arena to judge by. She'd always assumed that marriage, especially if both parties were in agreement to the pact, would lead to closeness and companionship, but Siggy and Rollo did not seem to share such a bond. Despite offering aid, Siggy seemed to be trying to keep her body from touching Rollo's. Kara wondered what the story behind that was. She would try and draw it out.

Kara only stopped singing when the party of three entered the cottage. She could feel Rollo's relief when she ended her ditty. He thought that was the end of her antagonism. He was wrong. As the door slammed shut, Kara turned into a raven and took to the skies.

It took several trips into the ravine, but eventually, piece by piece, she was able to find all of Rollo's clothing. Flying whilst carrying his staff was nigh on impossible. She could only just wrap her claws around it, it was far too big for her size and completely unbalanced her. By the time she'd reached the little pile of garments she'd collected, she was exhausted. She remained in human form to carry the pathetic bundle to the door of the cottage. The path remained empty, no one bore witness to a mysterious floating pile of rags.

As she neared she listened, and heard the sounds of idle conversation and gossip. She was tired in body and in spirit from the events of the afternoon and her exertions, and the sounds of companionship within made her soul leaden with loneliness. She needed to gain entry and rest in the warmth, but there was just one more small matter to attend to….

Kara unsheathed her dagger. The blade was sharp and sliced through the lock of her hair easily. She knotted the silver strands around the staff, wondering if her plan would work, and then let the length of wood drop heavily against the door as she let it slip from her fingers. The grating knock garnered the attention she'd sought. She heard the discussion about who the guest could be. When Siggy opened the door, Kara slipped inside.

Floki and a now fully-clothed Rollo were seated on stools by the hearth. Kara eased her aching muscles onto Rollo's bed, smirking as he watched her, unable to do a damn thing about her insouciance. She lay on her back, folded her hands behind her head, crossed her legs at the ankles, and prepared to have some fun.

~o0o~

Rollo stared at the fire, refusing to acknowledge the Valkyrie who was, he knew, stretched out on the pile of furs on his pallet. On the stool next to him, Siggy feigned concern while Floki jiggled about on his own stool, like his arse was on fire.

Rollo raised his eyes. "What ails you, Floki? Even for you, you're twitchy."

"The gods are close." Floki's eyes darted around the small space. "Can you not feel it?" He jumped to his feet and looked around, giggling maniacally. "Or maybe it's a ghost. You must be able to feel it."

Rollo closed his eyes. "Why would the gods be here? Just sit down, you're making me tired."

Siggy laid her hand across his brow and frowned. "Maybe you should rest for a while. I'll prepare a meal for when you feel stronger, and then we can discuss your return to Kattegat. I think you're well enough for the journey now."

Siggy moved to investigate whatever the cottage had in the way of provisions. Rollo wasn't hopeful about the results of her endeavours with whatever she would find. Siggy was a passable cook, but too many years with servants to take care of such mundane tasks had blunted her skill.

And still Floki would not sit. Rollo wished for his full strength so that he could yank the skinny man back down to his stool. And Rollo knew he would need his full strength to do so, Floki was deceptively emaciated, but there was muscle on that scant frame and he had the nervous energy of the insane. Rollo sighed and closed his eyes, trying to ignore Floki's twitching, Siggy's sighing and banging, and Kara's smug silence.

"What's this?"

Rollo and Siggy looked up at exactly the same moment to see Floki holding Rollo's staff… and unwrapping a length of silver hair from around the end.

Rollo knew damn well where that lock of silk had come from. He hadn't seen it, and apparently neither had Siggy, when she had answered the single knock at the door and found the mysterious pile of his belongings and brought them inside. In answer to her questioning Rollo had merely shrugged. He knew damn well how they'd gotten there, but he couldn't very well tell them that a former Valkyrie - who seemed intent on destroying his life - had piled them on the doorstep. It seemed she'd left him a message, or a fresh torment.

Siggy dropped the knife and the turnip she'd been holding and rounded the table. She took the strands from Loki's hand and brought them closer to the firelight. Seeing them for what they were, she turned narrowed, suspicious eyes to Rollo and hissed, "Who's hair is this?"

~o0o~

Rollo's mouth opened and closed again.

Kara sat up and smirked as he shot her a look of pure hatred. "_Why not tell her the truth, Rollo?" _

"_Because I'm not Floki." _

Siggy picked up the knife and pointed it a Rollo. "Where is she?"

"She was just a whore, Siggy. You weren't here, and I have needs." Rollo retrieved his staff and hauled himself to his feet. "I need a piss."

Siggy grabbed his arm, as Floki giggled and contorted. "We have barely enough to see us through next winter, I've had to compensate the people who own this house, and you spend what little we have left on whores?"

"Don't worry, she gave it away freely." Rollo laughed. "She was like a bitch on heat."

Kara reached the door before he did. "_Whore?"_

"_You need to learn, Valkyrie, not to play games with me. You wont win."_

It was clear that the morning's exertions had taken their toll on Rollo. As he crossed the shingle to the waters edge, he leaned heavily on his staff and would stop every so often to catch his breath. Without thinking, Kara reached out to him, but he brushed her hand away with a snarl.

"I don't need your help."

His rejection of her, hurt, and that was another new feeling for Kara. She knew that, if she wanted to, she could exert her power over him, and force him to accept her help… force him to love her. But something-her pride, maybe-was stopping her. She didn't want him to fall in love with Kara the Valkyrie. She wanted him to love Kara the woman.

She was far from home, in a world she didn't understand, and tied to a man who hated her.

A man who she'd loved from the first time she'd set eyes on him.

Rollo stopped in his tracks. "You don't know what love is, Imp."

"Do you?" She was going to have to guard her thoughts more carefully. "Have you ever loved anyone, Rollo?"

He pulled a face. "Love is for fools."

Her heart constricted as a wave of pain hit her. He had felt the pain of rejection. Kara reached out again, and this time, he didn't brush her aside. As their essences merged, she found herself searching. She pushed past the anger, the physical pain. Tried to look beyond the fierce warrior for the…

"Stop that!" The separation was so abrupt, Kara nearly fell on her arse.

"You can feel it!" Neither had noticed Floki approaching. He circled them both, wringing his hands and searching the sky. "The gods have touched you, Rollo Lothbrok. Lagertha was right, Odin has plans for you."

Rollo snorted. "I'm of no use to Odin. If any god has a hand in my fate, it was Loki."

Floki giggled. "Well, Bjork did tell Ragnar that he thought you'd lost your mind."

"What do you want, Floki? Can a man not even piss in private?"

"Siggy was concerned about you. She thinks you may be feverish." Floki was still searching, but Kara was now guarding her thoughts. "You need to rest before we return to Kattegat. The ice has nearly gone. Siggy can take care of you while Lagertha and Bjorn prepare for the raids."

"I can take care of myself." Rollo straightened up and took a deep breath… or tried to, at least. Kara reached up on tiptoes and brushed her lips against his as he swayed slightly. He blinked and shook his head. "There's no fever and I'm nearly healed. I will return to Kattegat, but not to be taken care of. I want to raid."

Floki spun around and snatched the staff. "You cannot even walk." He was enjoying Rollo's predicament far too much, in her opinion. "You wouldn't even survive the crossing."

"_He's right, Rollo. Even if I gave you my last breath, and my last drop of blood, you wouldn't be strong enough._" Kara laid her hand on his back, lending him her strength. "_But next year, with my help, you will be more formidable that you have ever been before." _

~o0o~

"_A year?! I think I'll revisit my plan for the noose and the tree branch."_

While Kara stuttered for a response. Rollo answered Floki's questioning look. "I can, and I will. The raiding parties won't sail just yet. I have time."

"Not long enough." Floki giggled. "Not long enough to shed your madness."

"If madness was ever a barrier to raiding, Floki, you'd be left at home to talk to the trees."

Rollo regretted his words, not much, only a little, when an expression of hurt crossed Floki's face, but they were both distracted by Kara, although Rollo was sure that he was still the only one who could hear her word for word.

"_They'll sail after the lambing. That gives you three moons to become the man you were."_

"_I am still the man I was, Imp. I need strength to become the warrior I was."_

"_And you think I'll help you?"_

"_I know you will."_

"_You're so sure? I might leave you here to rot with your branch and your noose and your wife."_

"_You won't, not if you want to see Valhalla again."_

"_I think we've established, Rollo, that it's unlikely I'll ever see my home again."_

Kara shifted, and Rollo felt the breeze stirred up by her flapping wings across his cheek. He watched as she disappeared back into the forest. A gleeful chuckle reminded him that Floki was still there,still watching, still listening.

"Perhaps you should come with us, Rollo. It seems the gods speak to you."

"No, they don't speak to me, they only torment me." Rollo reached out and managed to snag his staff from Floki's careless grip. "I will be ready for the first raiding party, you'll see. But I'm not coming back to Kattegat until then. I plan to stay here. I'll be strong again, I promise you that."

He would need Kara's help to fulfill that promise. Rollo knew it would be hard work, even Floki looked at him as if he were mad, and that spurred him to prove the tree whisperer wrong. He would prove them all wrong. But first, he had to find a raven in a forest, apologise, and convince her that… She should help him? That he was worth helping? That he loved her? Rollo had a feeling that he would be spending a lot of time over the next three moons on his own.

~oOo~

Kara ruffled her feathers and watched, from the low bough, as Siggy and Floki left the cottage. She had spent a cold, miserable and lonely night watching and waiting, unable, despite her best efforts, to leave the small dwelling.

The connection was so strong between them now, that even when he was out of her sight, she could feel Rollo's presence, and she'd tortured herself all night at the thought of him fucking his wife. Of his hands on her, pounding his wonderfully thick prick into her. Of his eyes darkening and his mouth devouring Siggy in the way it had devoured her.

There had been no love between them-a blind man could see that-but Siggy was his wife and Kara was terrified that he would leave with her. But… She stretched her wings and took to the sky… But he had admitted that he needed her help, and now Siggy was leaving without him.

Kara soared over the little cottage towards the departing couple and, swooping low, crapped on Siggy's head.

"_A little childish, Imp." _He'd been waiting for her.

She landed and shifted form. "I don't like her."

He was leaning on his staff in the doorway, bare chested and magnificent, with an amused expression on his face. "Come here."

Kara didn't need telling twice. A night alone in a freezing forest, while the man one loves is in the arms of another woman, gives a person-or raven-clarity. She wanted him, and he needed her. The time for games was over.

She'd never been held like this. Kara closed her eyes as his arm tightened around her and he pressed his lips to the top of her head. She could hear his breath rattle in his chest and feel his pain. She did believe that he would return to the battlefields because Odin had decreed that it was so, but she couldn't see how he was going to achieve it in three moons.

"Will you help me try. Imp?"

"I would prefer if you called me by my name."

He laughed, lifted her chin with his forefinger, and kissed her. "Kara."

Kara allowed him to lead her inside. Before they embarked on what seemed like an impossible task, they had to talk. Properly, without recrimination. She pulled a stool closer to the fire and, uninvited, sat down.

"I cannot heal you, Rollo."

"I know." Rollo sat next to her and held his hands out over the flames. "But you can help me."

"I…. I haven't been entirely honest with you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Speak on."

Kara took a deep breath. "I cannot return to Valhalla as a Valkyrie, only as your wife. But if you accept me as such, I will become visible to all, and will become mortal. I… I will lose my powers. If we had more time…"

"I don't have time, Kara. In three moons, Ragnar will lead the raiding party to England. I… I think I have to be there." He grabbed her hand. "I _know_ I have to be there. And I can't do it without your help."

Kara wasn't sure Rollo understood. His destiny wasn't just to die in battle, Odin was playing his games again. She looked at her small hand enveloped in his.

"What do you know about gods?"

Rollo frowned and opened his mouth to speak. Kara leaned forward and brushed her lips against his to silence him.

"I'm not just talking about Norse gods." She leaned back and tried to put her thoughts in order. "Gods are everywhere, Rollo. Sometimes they're powerful and sometimes, they fade from the memories of men and become small and weak, but they are always moulded by those who worship them. And they are always… there." She laughed. "Mortals bestow gifts to them in return for favours. They perform rituals and blame gods for their ills and thank them for good fortune, but the gods don't care. They will do what they will do." She sighed. "Gods fight amongst themselves, they fuck, and they play games using mortals as pawns. A wise man will never try to attract the attention of the gods."

She fell silent for a moment, allowing her words to sink in. Rollo Lothbrok had spent a lifetime doing just that, and it hadn't just been Odin who had noticed him.

He looked up and met her eyes. "You think me a fool?"

"No." She ran her fingers along a scar that bisected his chest. "But you did allow yourself to be baptised."

"It meant nothing. It was a joke, nothing more."

Kara sighed. "The Christian god is different. He's greedy." She laughed. "All gods are greedy, but he is greedier, and he cares-not for the mortals who worship him, despite what they'd have you believe-he thrives on their prayers and demands obedience. He doesn't play games, because he doesn't need to; his worshipers will do his bidding without question because his word is law. And he wishes to destroy all other gods."

"Will he succeed?"

"Maybe, in the minds of men." She laughed again. "But I don't think Odin will be easily forgotten, and I believe that, hundreds of years from now, men will still hear Thor's hammer. Floki is right when he says there can be no reconciliation, but gods are not easily destroyed. Gods may fade, but while the sagas are retold and songs are sung, they will still exist. I believe that Ragnar and his sons will ensure that they will never be forgotten."

"But not I."

"If you want to know whether you achieve fame, ask the seer." There was another scar across his abdomen-so many scars. "We are being punished for our actions, Rollo. But I keep getting the feeling that the gods are playing games with us."


	13. Chapter 13

"The day grows long, little one. Too long to make the journey to the seer's hovel." Rollo caught the wrist of the hand that was outstretched, stopping the fingertips from continuing their journey over the scar across his stomach. "And the gods are not the only beings who like to play."

When Kara raised her face from her examination of the map of scars across his torso, her first expression was a wide-eyed, naive hopefulness, but those blue eyes soon narrowed to suspicion.

"Surely you're exhausted after a night in your wife's embrace?"

Ahh, she could deny she was jealous all she liked, but the evidence was there for all to see. And she knew that he knew it, her eyes narrowed more at the satisfaction that he couldn't quite quell. It was no bad thing to have a beautiful woman want him beyond reason.

"Would that I were. Sadly I spent a cold night alone in my bed."

Kara's eyes narrowed still further and her chin tilted with obstinacy.

"I don't believe you."

"Believe what you like, then. But the truth of the matter is that I've never been much for fucking with an audience, and Floki has never been known for his ability to keep quiet. Why would I subject myself to hearing him shout out his jokes and helpful suggestions while I try to reach my pleasure?"

Kara's expression finally softened. "You truly slept alone?"

The despondent hope that he could feel in her made Rollo's chest ache.

"Yes, little one. Truly I did."

~o0o~

The only way to save her heart, would be to fly away. If she had the sense of a dormouse, she would walk out of the cottage, take a wing, fly until she reached the ocean, and never return. But in the presence of this man she had less sense than a mote of dust. If she stayed, she would end up hurting. Rollo might use her until he regained his strength, and then reject her for Siggy, or whichever other female took his fancy. If by some sublime whim of fate he did decide he loved her, and did take her as his wife, she would lose her powers, become fully mortal, become weak, and then lose her husband on the battlefield. There would be no happy ending to this saga. But Kara didn't care.

If years and years of observing warriors had taught her anything, it was that time in the mortal realm was brief. Contentment and joy had to be grabbed with both hands and cherished above all things, because the memory of happiness was the only thing that truly lasted, the only thing that remained when gold was spent, when power was lost, when fame faded.

She would grab this happiness while she could.

Her own careening emotions were making it difficult to read Rollo's sincerity, despite their strengthened link. She would simply have to hope that he would hold true.

"Are they coming back?"

"No. Not for some time. Floki will come when the time for sailing draws near, to see whether he should build a boat big enough for the giant I'm sure to become, or so he says. Siggy won't come back. She abhors weakness. Unless I show up in Kattegat whole and strong, she'll find another luckless pawn to play with."

"So if I help you regain your strength, I'll be returning you to your wife?" Kara hadn't known that a mortal life could become so snarled so quickly,like being caught in briar patch. Thorns pricked her soul whichever way she turned.

"I think, little one, by the time I'm strong again, that I might have grown tired of Siggy's games."

She wanted to believe him. She wanted to take the hope that he dangled in front of her like a toy for a babe, but she wasn't sure that she could. Complete and uninhibited trust was a lot to ask after the insults he'd hurled at her, after the games that he'd played… but when his lips pressed against hers, she could not resist, except…

She pulled back, but Rollo followed her, gripping the nape of her neck with his strong fingers to keep her from moving. She had to whisper her words against his lips. "What about Bjorn, and Lagertha?"

"What about them?" Rollo's murmured question was almost a kiss, they were so close.

"When will they be back?" Kara wasn't much for an audience either, but if they were interrupted, she wouldn't be seen. If Rollo truly wanted a reputation for having lost his mind, being found thrusting into thin air would definitely be the way to obtain one.

"They wont."

Kara would have nodded to show her acceptance of his confirmation that they would remain undisturbed, but Rollo had tightened his grip.

~o0o~

Kissing the Valkyrie was like nothing Rollo had ever experienced before. He was sure that in all his lifetime he'd never encountered lips so soft, or a taste so sweet and yet fresh. Kara tasted like sunshine, like the first bright day after the storms of winter, when the ice started to melt and the trees began to think about showing their first green buds.

He cursed himself for a poetic fool, but he could not put her aside.

She was so slight, so delicate. Everything about her seemed frail and breakable; her long limbs, her lithe body, her slender fingers, everything except the core of iron and her heart of oak. There was an immovable strength to his tantalising sprite.

He could feel her confusion and hesitancy, and it threatened to overwhelm him. Her frantic mind made him dizzy. Rollo knew he was not a sympathetic man, he was not deft with words or emotions, he knew only how to do what he knew how to do. He didn't know how to cajole and coerce. He only knew how to fight, how to attack, how to move forward in all things. He could not spin flowery words to calm Kara, to persuade her to believe in him. He could only move forwards…

He stood, drawing Kara up with him by the grasp he had on her neck. If she was feeling his pain, she did not show it, but then he wasn't feeling any of his usual aching weaknesses just at that moment. There were too many heartbeats between the time they were seated and the time he was able to pull her fully against him. Her curves fit against his body in a way that made his mouth water, but it wasn't enough, it wasn't even close to being close enough.

Rollo moved, forcing Kara to stumble backwards, because had no intention of breaking the connection of their kiss until he absolutely had to. The point at which he absolutely had to came when they reached the bed, because neither of them would be lying down until they were naked.

~o0o~

Kara couldn't hold a coherent train of thought while Rollo was kissing her, whilst his tongue was plunging into her mouth, while he was overpowering her. She knew the direction in which he was forcing her, knew that he was guiding her to the bed, and she was in complete agreement with his intention, so she gave herself over to the pleasurable assault.

When he began to pull and tug at her clothing, she unclenched her fingers from his upper arms, and began to fumble at fastenings and hems until she could shed her garments. The kiss continued, interrupted only when Rollo yanked her tunic over her head, and when he dropped to his knees to slide her trews over her hips. The need to be naked against him was all that mattered. She needed to feel his skin against hers, needed to feel his heart beating against her chest. She needed.

As they both tossed the last remnants of their clothing to the floor, Rollo wrapped her in his arms, and took her down to the bed. Kara submitted willingly. She needed to feel his weight on her, needed to feel his sweat-slickened body slide over her. She needed.

It was Rollo who broke the kiss eventually. He was holding himself on straightened arms, keeping her in a cage made of his body. He drew back, and the emotion that she saw flashing in his dark eyes gave her hope that perhaps the agony of the inevitable heartbreak would be worth it. He held her gaze as he settled his hips between her parted thighs. He held her gaze as he moved over her, against her, into her.

He worked his body into hers slowly, a little a time, rocking gently against her hips. There was no pain, only a weight and stretch that made her impatient for more of anything and everything.

And then he whispered her name.

~o0o~

"Kara." Her name exhaled on lust-burdened breath was a promise, a prayer, something he could not explain.

Rollo knew only that her body felt like maybe he'd achieved Valhalla on the bleak plains of Midgard. Her blue eyes showed him more than any seer could hope to fathom with runes and omens. If her kiss was the wakening of the earth, then her body was the heat of the hearth, welcoming a warrior home from the freezing seas.

He'd intended to take his time. He wanted to make the moments last for lifetimes. He never wanted their joining to end. But the slide and clench and fire was too much. Kara's body began to tighten, her fingers digging deeper into his muscles, her legs wrapping more firmly around him. She was crying out, breathy, little gasps of pleasure that stabbed at something deep inside his chest. Her blue eyes were wider than the heavens, and that silver hair was spread out across his bed exactly as he'd envisioned. Rollo was undone. There was no denial in the face of the pleasure that she was feeling, that he was feeling with her. Rollo let go, and took Kara with him.

~oOo~

Kara didn't care anymore.

It didn't matter that she may never return to Valhalla, that she may forever be destined to wander a realm full of cold, and pain, and... This. Because this was perfection. This was why mortals fought, and suffered. This was why they didn't curl up in a ball of despair and die.

She clung to Rollo as the world exploded into a million tiny pieces and all that was left, was him.

He was on her, inside her. He was everything and he was everywhere.

"Rollo."

Rollo roared and collapsed on top of her panting heavily into her shoulder. "Kara."

She wasn't sure how long they'd laid there. It could have been a hundred years or a heartbeat, but when Rollo eased his softening cock from her, leaving her bereft, and rolled onto his back, it was too soon. He reached over and pulled her into his arms, Kara closed her eyes as the pieces of the world glued themselves back together, and waited for sleep to claim her.

~oOo~

If he sailed to the ends of the earth, and searched every kingdom, Rollo would never find another like her. No woman could ever complete him in the way she did. No other woman could make him feel that he was the man he wanted to be. Absently, he ran his fingers through her curls. No woman compared to his Valkyrie. His Kara.

She stirred and a smile played across her lips. "You could be a decent fuck with a little practice."

He grinned and pulled her closer. His imp.

Despite the post coital glow, something was nagging at Rollo. He'd tried to listen to what she'd been saying, but his impatient cock had made him deaf and had robbed him of coherent thought. Kara had said that if he took her as his wife, she would become mortal, and without her power, he knew he would never return to the battlefield. But if the gods didn't witness their union, she could never return home. Whatever game the gods were playing, it looked as though the woman in his arms was going to be the loser.

"Don't fall asleep." He nudged her with his shoulder. "We have work to do."

"Mmmm." She snuggled closer. "Just for a while. I've never slept in this form before."

"Kara." He pushed her away, and sat up. "There are goats and chickens to take care of, the fire to tend, and food to be prepared. You are not in Valhalla now, without warmth and food, we will not survive."

Kara's sharp pain of rejection and confusion at his sudden abrupt manner, felt as real to Rollo as if it had been his own. But he shielded his thoughts and kept his back to her as he gathered together, his discarded clothes. The rapidly returning weakness and the pain that had been his constant companion, was a reminder that only with her help, was he ever going to raid again.

To love the woman on his bed was to deny himself a place in Valhalla.

Rollo hardened his heart. "Get up, Imp."

~oOo~

If he'd taken that axe by the door and cleaved her chest, Rollo couldn't have hurt her more. And try as she might, Kara couldn't induce the anger, that until now, had been her best form of defence.

She wanted to cling to him, to beg him not to hurt her. And she wanted to bring him to his knees and force him to beg forgiveness for showing such disrespect.

But she took a deep breath and did as she was told.

Rollo tried to push himself to his feet, and without thinking, Kara laid her hand on his back.

"Kara, I…"

For a fleeting moment, she'd thought…. No, it didn't matter what she'd thought. She was here to right a wrong, and she deserved nothing more than his disdain. Even if it tore her heart apart.

She forced a smile to her lips. "You do realise that I don't know how to do any of those things."

He turned, and with a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes, he touched her cheek. "Then it's time you learned."

With her hand on his back, Rollo could walk unaided with just a hint of a limp. But when he reached his staff that he'd discarded on the opposite side of the room, he picked it up and pushed her hand away.

"Put your cloak on. You first lesson is how to milk a goat."

"Do _you_ know how?" Somehow she couldn't see the fierce warrior milking a goat.

"I'm the son of a farmer, Imp." He grinned. "Although, I'll admit, it's been a long time."

~o0o~

He was trying not to laugh, really he was, but sneaky little chuckles kept escaping past his lips. And every time one let fly, Kara turned that pained and furious gaze on him. It was just so damn funny, the goat would not keep still, and she was squirting drops of milk onto her boots.

"Here, Valkyrie. Take hold of it like it's my cock." Rollo leant forward to show Kara again how to grasp the teat.

"Like I should yank it right off?" She shouldered him away, but she took hold of the teat in a firmer grasp and gave it a decent yank. A jet of milk shot out, and almost hit the bucket.

Rollo winced at the sharpness of her tone. "You need to improve your aim, little one."

No, he hadn't missed that she'd winced and hunched over when he'd used the fond endearment. But she kept trying. Now that she had a firmer hold, the goat had realised she meant business, and stopped trying to wander off.

Unfortunately, the feeding of the chickens didn't go much better. Kara nearly trod on three whilst trying to get out of the way of their impatient beaks.

"Scatter the corn, Kara. They'll stop pecking you then."

"I'm trying."

"Scatter faster, Imp."

A handful of stinging kernels hit him full in the face.

Rollo tried to keep his humour under control as he showed Kara how to clean out the coop and the sty. If she was in the mood for throwing things, he didn't want to suddenly find himself with a face full of goat shit.

He almost reconsidered the cookery lesson when he realised that it would give Kara access to a knife whilst in close proximity to him. But then he reasoned that she carried a blade anyway. He couldn't show her how to bake bread, even he didn't have that skill, he'd always left it to Siggy or Lagertha to bake it. He only knew how to buy it, but there were no bakers near their cottage. Rollo added some salted pork to the stew. The meat had carried over from _Gormánuður_. It would be fatty and hard to chew, but it would add flavour, and it would be edible enough if cooked for a long time.

Kara took to learning how to build a fire more quickly than she had to her lessons on caring for the animals and preparing food. Since he was worried about her being near fire, more specifically, hitting him with a smouldering cord of wood, Rollo kept his irreverent comments to himself as he instructed her. As the sparks caught and the twisting wisps of smoke gave way to flames, Kara stared at her handiwork and smiled with satisfaction. It was all Rollo could do not to drag her down and fuck her in front of the hearth.

~o0o~

"I did it."

"Yes, you did." He moved closer, so that their bodies were almost touching, and bent and kissed her neck. "And now, you have to take that broom, and sweep the floor."

"And what are you going to do?"

He nipped her earlobe, sending shivers down her spine. "I'm going to sit over there, and watch." Kara's retort died in her throat as she watched him limp to the bed. He'd been on his feet for a long time, and she'd been too busy to notice how tired he was.

"I'm fine Kara." He eased himself onto the bed.

"I know." She took the broom and looked at it. She'd seen Lagertha and Bjorn use it every day when she'd been trapped with them - just one of the many chores that mortals had to do to survive. "Does the floor really need sweeping?"

"Yes." He lay back and closed his eyes. "If you don't want to share your house with vermin."

It was too much.

Her hands were sore and reddened. She'd been kicked and pecked. She was dirty and she smelled. Kara dropped broom onto the floor. "I'm…" Her stomach growled and clenched; another new and unpleasant feeling. "I'm hungry, I think."

"You'll have to wait. I told you to eat your porridge."

The grey slop that he'd offered her before their cooking lesson, had turned her stomach, but now she was regretting turning her nose up at it. Kara felt a sob build in her throat, but she swallowed it down. When she was in Rollo's arms, she would have happily given up her powers and a place in the great hall to be with him. But being a mortal was just so… depressing.

How did they do it? How could they stand the drudgery, the monotonous, daily grind of just surviving? How did they not give in to the tiredness, the cold, the sheer pain of existence?

She wanted to go home. Kara squeezed her eyes shut as a wave of homesickness hit her. She wanted to be warm. To eat because the food on the perpetually laden tables was delicious, not because she was hungry. She wanted to be free of the demands that this realm imposed on her body.

"Kara."

She hadn't been aware of Rollo getting up from his bed and closing the distance between them. She'd been so wrapped up in her own misery, that she hadn't been aware of him at all.

He pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest. "Not everything in this realm is terrible, little one."

~o0o~

"Yes it is. Everything's so hard, and so cold, and so miserable Even the smallest things are so much effort."

She was trying not to cry, trying and failing. "But there are things that make it all worthwhile. And besides, little one, not everyone has the luxury of knowing any differently. You've seen Valhalla, so you think this plane extremely crude. To the people who are born here, this is just how things are, this is their life. They can only live it. We know no better."

"But what makes them smile?" He words were spoken into his torso and muffled, but he heard them. "What makes them try so hard to live it?"

"Love, I suppose. Love for their family. We live for each other, to support each other. Life is like a shield wall, Valkyrie. You're stronger when you all stand together."

"Even you, Rollo. You have no family of your own, no one to love."

Her words hurt him in a place that he didn't think he could feel pain. "That's not true, Valkyrie. I have Bjorn, I love my nephew, and Lagertha. She might nag, but I'd do much to keep her from harm."

"It's interesting that your wife and your brother aren't first on your list."

Rollo sighed. "Ragnar can take care of himself, as he's proved over and over. He doesn't need my help. And I don't think Siggy does, either."

Rollo tucked Kara more tightly against his chest and held her. When she unclenched her fingers from his tunic and slipped her little arms around his waist, the ache that was shooting through his spine and down his legs lessened substantially. He would be able to stand a while longer without falling. And he would stand, silently, because he would not tell Kara the things that he knew she wanted to hear. To speak such words would be far too painful for them both.

Eventually, when he thought that she might have calmed, Rollo kissed the crown of her silver curls. "Finish your task, little one. Then we can lie down awhile until the stew is cooked, then we'll fill your belly."

Kara nodded, he felt her head move against his chest and lips. But when he released her,she didn't raise her eyes from the floor. Without her hold, his legs stiffened up. He staggered back to his pallet, and half lay, half collapsed upon it, but this time he did not lie down. Instead, Rollo kept himself propped up so that he could watch Kara as she worked.

She didn't raise her eyes from the floor once. He thought that might have been due to concentration on her task, but he was sure it was because she was still depressed. And he didn't know how to make her happy. He didn't think he had the power within him to make anyone happy. Certainly, everyone that he touched, anyone with any tie to him, had felt the sting and bite of his selfishness and callousness.

If Kara stayed with him, this bright, precious gift from the gods would only become miserable and dull. And yet she could not return to her home without him. Rollo wasn't sure how he would achieve it, but he wanted to find a way for Kara to go home. The thoughts he was thinking both excited him and saddened him. To be able to offer her her home, with no conditions, was a gift that he absolutely wanted to be able to give Kara. But the thought of losing her, of not sharing his days with her, of never feeling her heartbeat against the palm of his hand, or her whispered breaths at his ear, or her slick skin around his cock again, made Rollo profoundly sad.


	14. Chapter 14

Instead of returning to Rollo's arms on the completion of her task, Kara had slipped outside, and taken to the sky.

Her reasons were twofold: She was hungry, and had only ever eaten in this realm in raven form, but more importantly, she knew it would anger Rollo.

He was falling in love with her. He hadn't said the words out loud, but Kara could feel it. And she could feel her her powers weakening, as his feelings for her grew. She could still shift form, but she doubted she could retain it for long, and her healing powers were waning.

If Rollo was to ever return to the field of battle, he would need all her strength, and his love was destroying it. Kara flexed her wings and rose on an updraft. The doors of Odin's great hall would only ever be open to one of them, and she couldn't deny Rollo his rightful place at her father's side.

The land below her was savage but as beautiful as anywhere in her own realm, and as a raven, she was better equipped to survive the harsh environment. She wheeled and swooped low over a small settlement, then landed on the roof of one of the rude hovels that seemed to huddle together against the cold.

Rollo had said that it was love that stopped mortals falling into the abyss of despair, but as she watched the people as they toiled below, she wasn't sure how it could ever be enough.

And yet…

She could hear laughter. Two men - warriors - battle hardened and carrying the same myriad of hurts the Rollo bore, walked with their arms around each other's shoulders, seemingly unaware of their latent pains. An old crone, no longer of any use to the tiny community, rocked a crying infant in her arms, and sang a song of Freya's bounty. Children ran and played in the mud, uncaring of the cold and filth.

Kara searched their souls, but nowhere could she find the despair that she had felt. All she could feel was hope. Hope that when the time came, they would find their rewards in the afterlife. That the gods would never turn their backs on them.

She had taken that hope from Rollo, and no matter what the cost to her, Kara was determined to give it back.

She wouldn't allow him to love her. Even if it broke her heart.

It was dark when she returned, and Rollo was sleeping the deep, dreamless sleep of the exhausted. He hadn't removed his boots, and when she touched his hair, it was damp.

He'd been out searching for her.

He rolled onto his back, and Kara could hear a rattle in his chest. She sat on the edge of his bed and kissed him, softly, Rollo took a deeper breath and stirred, but didn't wake. She smiled and kissed him again, before slipping back outside into the night.

Kara settled on her usual branch, and watched the house as he slept. She wasn't sure how well she could shield herself from him, the connection between them was so strong that she could see his dreams. But if she was careful, maybe she could lend him her strength without him noticing.

The rest would be up to him.

~o0o~

On waking, Rollo's first thought was to reach out and pull Kara to him, but when he found only emptiness in the space next to him on, his memory returned. She had left him, no, not just left him, she had abandoned him. He had searched long into the night, calling her name until his throat was sore and his chest rattled, until the fits of coughing nearly turned him inside out, and still he had not given up. Not even when his fingers became icy numb or when the rain blinded his exhausted eyes. Only when his legs had failed him had he almost dragged himself back to the cottage.

Rollo swallowed, his throat was still filled with arrowheads from yelling Kara's name like a lonely goat. He tried to swing his legs over the side of the bed, intending to find himself a drink of milk, but his limbs refused to obey his whim. Not since the early days of his recovery had he been so weak. He had abused himself sorely and now he knew the limits of his strength.

Several deep breaths and an immense force of will later, Rollo had planted his feet on the floor and was leaning heavily on his staff. His body had half remembered how it was supposed to work again, but the tingling in his muscles was agonising. He clenched his teeth and waited for it to pass.

After a lifetime, he found he could stand again. He demanded that his reluctant limbs carry him over to the table to find something to eat and drink, perhaps congealed stew and half-curdled milk. As much as his stomach roiled rebelliously at the thought of any kind of sustenance, he knew he had to force himself to eat. Without food he would not become strong again. And he needed to become strong again. He needed to be a warrior once more. Blood, death, violence, war and an awful thudding hollowness were all that he had left; for his Valkyrie had forsaken him.

~oOo~

Had she done the right thing?

Despite shielding herself from him, Kara was acutely aware of Rollo's presence, and all she could feel was pain. She didn't understand. He was supposed to be angry. He was supposed to hate her. She fluffed her feathers. She'd always thought of mortals as simple beings, but she couldn't have been more wrong. They were complicated, and felt more deeply than any being in her own realm,

Their lives were miserable and painful. From the moment they were born, until their last breath, they suffered. And then they piled more misery onto themselves by falling in love. They had children, despite having hardly enough to survive on, and actually celebrated their births. They nursed their sick, even when they must have known that there was no hope. They died to protect those weaker than themselves.

They cared.

Rollo had said that love was why mortals strove so hard to survive. But as far as Kara could see, all love did, was made them weak.

And then, the gods decided to use them for their own entertainment.

"_Kara?"_.

Kara raised her shield; she hadn't been aware that she'd been reaching out to him.

"_Kara? I know you're there." _The door opened, and, leaning heavily on his staff, his face grey with pain, Rollo stepped outside. "Dammit, Valkyrie. Show yourself."

As his eyes scanned the tree line, Kara shuffled closer to the trunk of the tree and fought the urge to change form.

She didn't need to reach out to him to know how weak he was. He could hardly stand, let alone walk and as she watched, he swayed as a coughing fit wracked his body.

"Kara... " His knees buckled. "Please."

She couldn't resist him. Kara stretched her wings, and left her hiding place. Drawing on all her power she stepped out from between the trees. "I'm here."

Rollo sank to his knees and groaned as she approached. Kara knelt in front of him and laid her hands on his cheeks. "Take all you need."

~oOo~

He knew what she was offering.

He could take it all.

He reached out and, with both hands grabbed her hair. As he brought his mouth to hers and forced those sweet lips apart with his tongue, his head spun with power as she gave everything she had. Rollo's teeth grazed her lip and the metallic taste of her blood mingled with her sweet breath as her essence poured into him, and life surged through his veins.

He could be strong again. He could feel it. If he took all she had, he could return to Kattegat ready to raid. He could be a mighty warrior again. Men would once more quake at the sound of his name, and women would throw themselves at his feet. He was Rollo Lothbrok, and he would achieve his destiny. All he had to do, was take all she offered, and not stop until...

He released her and she slumped against his chest. "That was foolish, Imp." With his forefinger he lifted her chin and kissed her, giving back some of what he'd taken. "You and I are destined to be together." He felt his lip curl into a grin. "I'm still not sure whether that's a blessing or a curse. You cannot hide yourself from me, and you cannot die so I can live." He laughed. "I nearly killed myself, searching for you, last night."

"Are you not angry?" Kara's strength was returning, and she pushed herself away from him. "I thought you'd be angry."

"No, I'm not angry, Kara." He began to scramble to his feet, brushing her hand away as she reached out; she'd given enough of herself. His legs felt stronger, and there was only the merest whisper of pain along his spine, Rollo held out his hand and helped her to her feet. How could he be angry. How could he ever have been angry? He wished he had the words to explain that he understood exactly why she'd gone, and the devastating emptiness he'd felt when he could no longer feel her presence. And then, as her arms slipped around his waist, he realised that he didn't need words. Rollo pressed his lips against her curls. "We cannot run from our destiny, little one."

Kara buried her face in his tunic and sniffed. "I still hate you."

He grinned and pulled her a little closer. "I hate you too."


	15. Chapter 15

**(I want my own AN…. Ozzysgirl says she can't write lemons. Ozzysgirl lies!, luv Mucky x)**

"Rollo, you need to stop."

"Not just yet, little one."

"Rollo, please."

"Not, yet."

"Dammit, Rollo Lothbrok you will put that axe down right now." Kara stamped her foot with impatience and frustration. It seemed they had half a forest's worth of wood already chopped for the fire, but Rollo was on some sort of mission to stockpile enough logs until Ragnarock.

He'd been working every day at something that required physical effort. If it was something that benefited their way of life, such as chopping firewood or re-thatching the roof of the cottage, than so much the better. If he couldn't find anything suitably taxing to do, then he walked down to the hot springs and carried a set of small boulders from one bank to the other.

Over time, he had been gaining strength, and needed less and less of Kara's essence, which was good, because over time she'd found she had less and less to give. Two of their allotted three moons had passed, and although Rollo was not in the peak condition he'd been in before his last battle, he was able to walk without his staff now, and he could stand a cold night without being tortured by fits of coughing.

But he was pushing himself hard, too hard in Kara's opinion. She felt that he was in danger of injuring himself, and then where would he be, because she wouldn't be able to heal him and he would lose valuable time.

"Rollo, if you don't stop you won't be able to move later."

Rollo split the last log that he'd placed on the tree stump that served as a chopping block, and with a thunk that seemed to reverberate through the ground, embedded the axe blade in the chipped and scarred remnants of the tree. He snatched his tunic from the ground and used it to scrub the sweat from his eyes and beard, but Kara was watching him carefully, waiting to see if he hitched his shoulder in that way he did sometimes when his back was sore. She was watching so carefully that she didn't altogether realise that he'd gotten closer until the sweating hulk of flesh gathered her up in a musky embrace.

"I'm fine, Valkyrie. But I could use a bath."

Kara struggled halfheartedly, but he wasn't letting go, and there was no sign of weakness in his solid, slick arms.

"Yes, you do. You stink. And now so do I."

~o0o~

"Then we should be prudent, Imp, and bathe together." Rollo kissed the top of her head and glanced up at the sky. "And we should hurry, there isn't much of the day left. Just let me stack this wood by the house."

Kara struggled in his arms again. He grinned and let her. She wouldn't be able to get free. He was stronger than her now, almost as strong as he'd ever been, and that was a potent feeling. It was true that he could feel the tiredness creeping into his muscles, but a long soak in the springs would soon rid him of that niggling ache. Eventually, when she began to curse him, and he began to feel that he might be pushing his luck, he relaxed his hold, but not before he'd stolen another kiss. He nearly got his lip bitten for his efforts.

"If you're so worried about me, Valkyrie. You could help me move all this." Rollo said as he filled his arms with the aromatic pine logs..

"I will, but only because if I don't you'll claim feebleness later and I'll be left to finish the cleaning by myself." Kara picked up her own load and followed him to the side of the cottage where the wood was stored in a dry space under the eaves.

"Never feebleness, Valkyrie, although I might be exhausted." He winked suggestively as he passed her, carrying another load.

"I always said that you were far too confident in your own abilities." Kara muttered, but he heard her, and her tone was not truly angry.

Once the firewood was stacked securely, Rollo pulled on his tunic, wincing as the wool stuck to the remnants of the resin on his chest and arms. Kara disappeared into the cottage, and when she reappeared, Rollo knew that the bundled blanket she was clutching would contain soap, a comb and a change of clothes for them both. Although his little Valkyrie had eventually adapted well to the stern hardships of Midgard, she still could not abide being dirty, at least, not for long. She had taken to wearing her hair in a braid during the days to prevent it from becoming tangled, but she combed it out at the first opportunity she got. Watching her complete that task had become on of Rollo's great pleasures in life.

As she stalked past him, her chin in the air, Rollo reached out and pinched her backside. When she squealed and swore at him, he lurched over and did it again. Her arms being too full to retaliate, Kara took off at a run. Rollo followed, grinning from ear to ear. The chase was on.

~o0o~

Kara ran towards the trees - not so fast that he couldn't catch her, of course. Rollo was much stronger now, and maybe to one who didn't know better, he looked fully healed. But there was weaknesses in both his chest and his legs, and if Rollo couldn't catch her, or became breathless, he would fall into one of his black moods again.

But it did feel good, just to run. To feel the sun on her face and to breathe in the crisp, pine scented air. Existing in this realm was harder than anything she could have imagined, but sometimes, like now, she was filled with joy. Sometimes, it felt good to be alive.

"Kara."

Kara turned and her heart sank; this was what she was afraid of. Rollo was bent, one hand on his knee and the other on a tree trunk. His head was hung low and he was breathing heavily. Silently berating herself for allowing this to happen, she walked towards him.

"Rollo?" Kara touched his shoulder. "Rollo, are you… Oh."

Quicker than she'd thought he was capable of, he straightened up and, with a triumphant grin, pushed her up against the tree. "Caught you."

The bundle dropped to the floor as her arms wrapped themselves around his neck. "And now you have, what do you propose to do with me?" That place, low in her stomach, fluttered in anticipation, as his thick, hot cock pressed against her. "Surely, you don't mean to take me, here against this tree."

"That's exactly what I mean to do, Valkyrie." His breath was hot against her neck, and Kara couldn't quite suppress the moan as his tongue trailed along her collarbone. "And you, my wanton little imp, can't wait."

She didn't deny it. He wouldn't believe her if she did.

His huge hands cupping her face, and his mouth devouring hers made answering impossible in any case. Rollo pulled away and grinned as the whimpered. "Turn around."

Kara eagerly complied and braced herself against the trunk. Rollo pushed up her shift and ran his rough hands up her smooth thighs. "There is no part of you, that isn't perfection, Imp." He straightened up and turned his attention to her neck. "I have never tasted anything as sweet as you."

Kara could feel herself growing impatient. "Rollo." His fingers were tantalizingly close to exactly where she wanted them to be. "I need…"

"What do you need Valkyrie?" Rollo's voice was low, almost a growl. "Tell me."

This was a game he liked to play. He'd tease her and goad her, until she begged. Kara tilted her head back and moaned, and this was a game he won every time. "Please, Rollo. Just touch me."

His finger brushed against her nub. "There?"

With his other hand, he loosened his trousers and released his cock, which was clearly as impatient as her. "With this? Tell me what you want, Imp."

"Fuck me." She was sobbing, her body thrumming with need for him.

Rollo kicked her feet further apart and, with is strong fingers digging into the very tops of her thighs, lifted her until her was up on tiptoes. Kara was going to object that he was too tall, that he would hurt her, but as he slid is delicious length inside her, her complaining calf muscles were forgotten.

With every thrust, her pleasure grew, building inside her until she thought she'd erupt.

And then she did.

A nearby flock of birds took off, as her cries filled the air. Rollo sank his teeth into her neck as he, too, let go and slumped against her, crushing her against the rough bark of the tree.

~oOo~

Rollo bit down on the urge to laugh as his little imp pushed him off her and gathered up her bundle. Her attempt at indignation no longer held any water with him. She was as hungry for him as he was for her. And try as she might, she couldn't hide her true feelings from him.

With a grin he tightened his belt and followed her retreating form through the trees. His back was objecting quite loudly now, and he was aware of a hitch in his stride as he walked. Rollo could have called her back - Kara's touch would have been enough - but she had given so much of herself, and although she denied it, her powers were losing their potency and he feared she would soon have no more to give.

Kara was becoming more mortal by the day. She no longer shone as brightly as the rigours of this realm were took their toll on her. She had blisters on her hands - he chuckled at the memory of her tears when the first one appeared - she felt hungry, her body ached when it was tired, and - he laughed again - to her horror, she had to piss and shit; he had no idea how she'd cope when she could no longer shift form to carry out her bodily functions.

As his strength returned, his Valkyrie grew weaker, but never once, had she refused him her aid. And although there had been more than a few temper tantrums, she was diligent when carrying out her daily tasks. Rollo's heart swelled. His proud Valkyrie, his gift from the gods, was becoming a woman, and although he could never say the words out loud, it made him love her more.

~o0o~

Despite the explosive pleasure of the coupling, Kara still felt… restless, as she walked to the springs. Each step only seemed to increase her frustration. Rollo had pleasured her well, as he always did, but should could not call herself satisfied. Her dissatisfaction, and inability to pinpoint its cause, soured her mood.

She was aware that Rollo had picked up on her distemper, but she brushed off his questions. She couldn't answer them for herself, let alone him. Ignoring him as she was doing was making him angry, but she couldn't help that, she didn't know how to right the wrong that she knew she was unwittingly creating.

By the time they reached the stream, Rollo was scowling, and had ceased asking her questions. She could feel the anger emanating from him. She felt the anger ebb slightly, only slightly, as she began to disrobe. She was about to step straight into the gurgling waters, but she couldn't resist a glance over her shoulder. She could hear Rollo undressing, and the sight of her man naked was not one to be missed.

She saw what she expected to see, Rollo… naked...hard, casting the second of his boots to the ground. The strength in his body, the etched muscles, the complex twists of ink across his skin - which was sheened with the exertion of following at the pace that she'd set - the full, virile beard, even his hair which - although knotted - hung halfway down his back and only betrayed his age with a few threads of grey; all of it was hers, and that made her smile, just a little. It was her coy grin, she could feel that much from him, that diffused his ire.

She stepped into the waters, they were only slightly warmer than her body, just warm enough to make her feel cosseted, as well as weightless. She savoured that feeling, almost the feeling of nothing, embracing her skin, higher, and higher, and further still. As she waded into the depths of the pool that had become theirs, she heard the clumsy splashing that heralded Rollo following her.

Before she could turn, his rough palms clasped her shoulders.

~o0o~

Women were a mystery to him. As he'd followed his ill-tempered imp he'd cursed the day Odin saw fit to people half the world with women. They had their uses, but curse their moods… who had the endurance for such trickery?

But gods, that half smile, the way she'd looked at him… like he was something to eat, daring him to go after her… he'd never been one to turn down a challenge.

But now he had her soft skin under his palms, and he could feel the stiffness leaving her muscles, could feel her becoming pliant under his touch, and that gave him a feeling of strength the like of which he'd never known, not even when holding his broadsword and axe and cleaving through enemy ranks. It seemed as though it should be impossible, but her skin became softer as she relaxed into him. He bent his head to kiss her neck, that sweet spot at the join of her shoulder, the spot that always made her moan; but the brush of lips became an overwhelming need to taste her, to feel her skin in his mouth. Rollo sucked drawing the tangy salt over his tongue… and she moaned, as he knew she would.

He slipped his hands downwards, just skimming her skin, and chuckled at her sounds of disappointment. But he only intended to wet his hands, to increase the slick slide as he drew them up, over her hips, inwards, over her belly, up, over her ribs, until he could cup those gloriously full breasts. When he rubbed the pads of his thumbs over and over the pale peaks of her stiff little niiples, Kara arched and moaned. In itself, hearing her enjoyment might be enough to make him spend, but feeling the slippery friction of her arse over his cock nearly finished him.

And then his lithe Valkyrie was turning, the peaks of her breasts were brushing against his chest, her arms were twining around his neck, her mouth was seeking his… Rollo dropped his hands, wrapped his fingers around her thighs, gripped her firmly, and pulled her up against his body. His imp was his for the taking. Not Freya, not Odin, no one would deny them.

His cock knew where it was going, it needed no guidance. He found her core, the wet heart of her, and as he nudged it, he pulled those long legs around his hips. Settled and balanced, he thrust, burying himself in a slice of Valhalla brought to Midgard. When his Valkyrie arched against him, moving to demand her own pleasure, he knew there was no greater satisfaction on earth.

~o0o~

Kara didn't understand, she couldn't comprehend. Their little tryst against the tree had brought her to a peak of pleasure… but this, this was what she had been lacking, this was what she had been yearning for. It was no less intense, their connection was no less complete, but this was what she needed. Her man... taking her, knowing her as he took her, commanding her, demanding of her - and allowing her to command and demand in return.

She surrounded him, was surrounded by him, was filled by him. She was supported by the water as much as by his strength, but that only added to the feeling of unreality, the tenuous grasp of this fleeting moment of reality. And then Rollo surged, hard and sharp, and Kara had to cry out, unable to contain the feeling within her body. It should have been pain, but it was pleasure, and it was sublime. And then he did it again… and again… and again, faster… faster still… faster… Kara cried out, shouted loud enough to be heard in Odin's halls, and let the white, bright feeling that exploded from her centre drown all the world, apart from Rollo.

~o0o~

"Kara." Rollo pulled her closer as the world pieced itself together again. "Kara, I…."

"Hush." She silenced him with a kiss. "Don't say the words. Never say the words."

He wanted to.

Rollo wanted to climb to the highest treetop and shout it out to the whole world. He wanted to walk into Kattegat and feel the envy of all who saw the beautiful woman at his side. That they would be envious, he had no doubt. Every woman would wish to be her and every man would want to have her. And no matter how hard they tried, no one would be able to steal her away from him.

Not even Ragnar.

Kara pulled away and frowned. "I am a prize to you?"

"The greatest prize." He pressed his lips against her temple. "No treasure shines as brightly as you. I want to say the words. I want the gods to know."

"You cannot." Kara was smiling, but her cheeks were wet with tears as her fingers brushed the scar on his chest. "The arrow that pierced your chest, has damaged you too much, and your legs are still not strong enough."

Rollo knew she was speaking the truth. He was strong now-stronger than many men-but sea crossings were arduous, and he refused to be a liability on the battle ground. Since Kara had dropped into his life, the feeling that he was fated to be something more than just a great warrior-that maybe the gods did have a plan for him. And that the Valkyrie in his arms was his only means of reaching his destiny.

But….

Kara rested her forehead against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I do think that, we will be together in Valhalla. But my heart is heavy and I don't understand why."

~o0o~

"Mine is, too. I think the seer could tell us…"

"No." Her adamance had shocked him, she could tell, but Kara felt a black veil drop over her vision, every time Rollo mentioned visiting the human who was tormented by the god-given gift of foresight. They had not yet made the trip. They had been waiting for Rollo to be stronger, then there was always some pressing chore, then the sun was setting before they'd had a chance to remember their intention. She was sure no good could come of knowing their future.

She disentangled herself from Rollo's arms, which was no small feat, due to her own reluctance as much as his unwillingness to release her. He was frowning, until she turned back to him with the lye soap in her hand then he smiled and knelt obligingly in the water, making it easier for her to reach his hair.

"So, do you think Floki will return to tell you of the raids?"

Rollo twisted his head sharply, his brows drawn in consternation. "Of course, he is my friend."

"Do you think he'll believe that you could become battle ready in three moons?"

"No," Rollo sighed, "but he's curious to the point of distraction. He won't be able to help himself, he'll have to come and look, to see if I've failed."

"But you won't have failed…"

"No, Kara, thanks to you, I will not have failed in my mission."

Kara wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she didn't, she remained silent. Should she graciously accept his thanks? It was her jealous error that had landed him in this predicament. If she had left him alone, he would have been comfortable in Valhalla now, and she would not have known what it was to love this man, to be loved by him. If she'd had half a heart, she would have flown to the other side of the world instead of even attempting to heal him. Now she didn't have a heart at all, Rollo had it, cradled in the palm of his calloused, scarred hand.

Even after she had finished washing and combing his hair and he began to work on her tresses, she did not speak. She was overwhelmed with a bleak sense of foreboding. The steady pressure of his fingers on her scalp and the soothing tug of the comb through her locks took the edge off her despair, but did not completely dispel it. But when he had finished grooming her and impatiently turned her in his arms again, she forgot all of her misgivings and lost herself in the heat of his hungry, consuming kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

"It's hopeless." Kara dropped the fishing stick onto the bank. "I keep missing."

"The water tricks the eyes, little one." Rollo skewered another fish. "Try again."

Kara pouted, but did as she was told. "Why does it matter that I can catch a fish? We have enough to eat. I'm tired of this, Rollo. All we've done for days is hunt, lay traps and now fishing."

Rollo wasn't sure why it was so important, but for some reason, he was compelled to teach her how to hunt and preserve meat. How to survive in this realm. Like a man possessed, he'd taken her for walks through the forest, pointing out which trees bore fruit and which mushrooms were safe to eat. He taught her how to cast a net and where to find the best shellfish. In the evenings, he'd try his best to ignore her attempts at seduction and show her how to treat animal skins and try to explain why this was so important.

He took the stick from her and, turning her around, pulled her into his arms."I cannot leave for the raids, knowing you can't take care of yourself, Imp."

"But I'll be coming with you." Kara struggled out of his arms and pushed herself away from him. "You need me."

"No I don't." Rollo grabbed her arm, and pulled her close again. "I'm strong enough."

He was sure that she would have tried to tell him otherwise, but Rollo ended all chance of any argument by engaging her mouth in more useful pursuits. He was strong enough. It had been five days since he'd needed her help and even then, he could have managed without it. Yes his back ached and would sometimes keep him awake at night, and he sometimes wheezed when he laid on his back. But he could fight, and maybe he could survive, because now, he wanted to. He wanted to return, victorious, and bestow gifts of gold and silver onto his beautiful wife.

He pulled away and grinned. "I love you, Valkyrie."

"Rollo, hush!" The gods will hear. Kara looked around nervously, as if she expected to see Loki lurking among the trees.

"Let them hear." Rollo stepped back and, with his arms held out, looked up to the gathering clouds and roared at the top of his voice. "I love her, Odin. I forgive her, and claim her as my own."

The world became still and the birds in the trees ceased their chattering. Rollo felt as though he was teetering on the edge of a precipice. He took a deep breath, and dived into it's unknown depths. "I love you, Kara. Marry me."

Kara's eyes widened and her mouth opened. And then she fainted.

Maybe he should have waited until they were out of the stream.

~o0o~

Kara came to, coughing and spluttering and wracked by gasping, sobbing attempts to draw breath. At first she flailed, trying to get out of the water, but as Rollo's arms tightened around her, pressing her more closely against his chest, she realised that they were lay on the banking. He shifted her forward, over one arm, and patted and rubbed her back until she could almost breathe again.

Since most of the air she was drawing in was desperately needed by her lungs, her voice was a hoarse whisper. "What have you done?"

"The right thing, Valkyrie. It would have been wrong to carry on denying what you mean to me."

Kara winced. "You can't call me that. Not anymore. I'm mortal now, as mortal as you. I have no powers to heal you Rollo."

"I don't need them anymore, little one."

"After the raids…"

He cut her words off by pressing a brief kiss against her lips, He barely lifted his head before he spoke again. "I won't need your powers. And they've been fading all the time that we've been together. You barely had them to offer."

Kara winced again at his reminder of her increasing powerlessness. She had felt her powers decreasing, as she had felt her love for the man holding her increasing. "But I can die now."

"So you'll have to make sure to keep in good health, little one. I've taught you all you need to know to survive while I'm away, and you already knew how to fight."

He was smiling, like their lives had become so much easier somehow.

"But how will you explain me?" He wasn't smiling now, he looked confused, so Kara clarified, "People will be able to see me know, they couldn't before. How are you going to explain that you're putting aside one wife for another, one that no one knew anything about?"

Rollo kissed her again. "Siggy will not object to a divorce. I'm sure she's found a brighter star to follow by now,anyway. And I've been alone out here for many moons. You might have come from anywhere." She was about to interject again, but he silenced her with yet another kiss. "Besides,little one. I care not what they think, and neither should you. Not least of all, because I don't think you have anything to worry about."

It was Kara's turn to look confused, so Rollo continued, his tone teasing. "Mayhap they won't be able to see you until you return the sentiment, Valkyrie. You haven't answered my question yet, you leave this warrior in torment."

Oh. Kara remembered. After he had recklessly called out to Odin, Rollo had professed his love and proposed. And she had fainted before she could answer him. She knew she was mortal now. Odin didn't need to hear her voice her feelings to know how she felt, she'd known that the chief of all gods had known for some time.

As soon as Rollo had made his announcement, Odin had taken back any last vestiges of power that she might have possessed. The water around her calves had felt a little colder, the sunlight on her arms a little warmer, the breeze that ruffled her hair had smelt a little fresher. All of it, in the seconds before she'd half drowned, had felt as though a veil had been lifted, allowing her to freely feel and hear and smell this world that she would now inhabit until she died a mortal death.

Rollo was beginning to look concerned… she hadn't yet answered him.

~o0o~

"Yes. Yes I love you. Yes I will marry you."

Kara wasn't smiling as she spoke, but her words washed through him, leaving him so weak with relief that he might have stumbled if they'd been standing.

"You won't regret it, Valkyrie."

"Stop calling me that. I am that no longer."

Rollo wanted to soothe the hurt he could see in her eyes. Even though she'd been growing more mortal every day, he could tell that the finality of her new life was still hard to bear. But that was his duty now, to dry the tears from her eyes, to make her lips curve in a smile, or gasp in pleasure. "No, I won't because you'll always be a Valkyrie to me. You'll always be my warrior goddess."

There, that was better. The tears in her eyes had stopped threatening to fall and her lips were twisting with humour. "Love makes you talk like a drunken fool, Rollo Lothbrok."

"Yes, Kara Lothbrok, it does. I like it."

She raised a wry eyebrow at the use of her new title. "You're getting ahead of yourself, don't you think?"

"No. I don't think." And no one could argue with that, he himself certainly wouldn't. But he was tired of talking now. He wanted to celebrate this moment. The most precious, strongest, tenacious, beautiful woman that he'd ever known had agreed to be his wife, knowing that that meant they would be together for eternity. It was momentous indeed,and Rollo knew of only one way to properly commemorate the occasion.

~o0o~

When Kara had first been dropped into this realm, she had thought that she had felt things as an ordinary mortal would. She had known hunger, and cold, and pain. She had known discomfort, and anger, and despair. But she knew now that she had only been feeling a part of what there was to experience in Midgard.

Rollo's fingers as they began to search under her tunic were warmer, rougher. His lips were firm, and yet more soft than she had ever realised. The brush of his beard felt like the whisper of a thousand feathers over her skin. She almost dissolved into tears at the realisation that she would never again be able to take her other form, would never again know the absolute freedom of soaring through the clouds and wheeling over the forest. But Rollo's whisperings of love and filth in her ear stemmed her sobs.

His endearments made her heart ache in her chest. His crude entreaties made her body grow warm and writhe. She could feel that she was wet, even before he slipped his finger between her legs and found the heart of her. His voice roughened as he found that she was already ready and impatient for him. He slipped two fingers into her sheath, and Kara arched, sure that it had never felt so intense, so urgent before.

She struggled to sit up. She didn't want to lose his touch, but getting naked was suddenly the most important thing in her world, ever. He could always return his fingers to where they had been, but she wanted, needed to feel his skin on hers. It was imperative that she feel the coarse rasp of the hair on his chest and legs as he moved against her, that she feel the the ridges of the muscles that slabbed over his body as they bunched and rippled with motion.

Rollo stopped cursing when she had finally managed to unfasten her leather belt and started to tug her tunic over her head, and then he followed her example, possibly in even more eager haste than she. When they were both blessedly naked, Rollo made to lie her down on the bed of their scattered garments, but Kara had other ideas. She pushed at his shoulders, her voice caught from saying what she wanted him to do. His brows drew down at first, but then he seemed to understand, or she assumed that he did, because he smiled widely and turned to lie on his back, pulling her atop him as he did so.

Kara straddled Rollo's hips and knelt up and over him, resting her palms against his chest. She leaned down to press a kiss to his lips, but rose up again before he could capture her. "Yes, Rollo Lothbrok, I love you." She reached behind her arse and grabbed his shaft in one hand, holding it steady. She pushed up on her knees until it was just nudging at her entrance, that smooth heat already making her dizzy with desire. "And I claim you for my own." As she spoke she sank down, taking all of him completely into her body.

Rollo bowed against the ground, raising her up with the arch of his body, but he didn't loosen the grip he had on her hips. His fingers would probably leave bruises, but Kara didn't care. She should always have such marks of his desire on her skin, like badges of honour. Rollo flexed again, relaxing after a fashion, with a growl that was more animal than human. She tried to ride, him, tried to move her body, but he would not let her. He moved her. He didn't relent his hold one inch, and even though he was under her, he moved her up and down, and thrust his hips, until he was buried so sweetly and deeply that she never wanted them to be parted.

The sunlight, dappled though through the leaves of the trees, bathed her skin. The stream gurgled and chattered along its noisy path. The birds had resumed their song. Life was continuing around them as they heaved and panted, striving for that perfect feeling, that wondrous moment. There was something innately primal and wild about their coupling that stirred something in Kara. She could no longer be a passive vessel for Rollo's pleasure. She tried to rise up, away from his grip, off his shaft, intending only to catch her breath and perhaps regain control, but her berserker was having none of that.

With a bestial growl from the depth of his chest he lifted and turned her, putting her underneath him, barely breaking his rhythm. Rollo let go of her hips, but only so that he could capture her wrists and stretch her arms out over her head. There was no doubt now, she was the one being claimed. If Odin was watching, Rollo was making it clear that she belonged to him, and him alone.

And then the world got even brighter, even sharper, even more perfect. If at all possible, Rollo's cock swelled larger as it thrust into her, became even harder, and Kara wondered how the gods could live without knowing the magnificence of such a moment, and she knew, without a doubt, that they could not know it without the fear and uncertainty of mortality.

And then Kara couldn't think at all, because the world dissolved into pure white bliss. She was overwhelmed with the rightness, the completeness, of the moment that she was barely aware of Rollo's groan as he reached his own peak, of the throb of his cock as he filled her with his seed. But she was aware, because she loved him, because he loved her, she was his, he was hers, and they would walk through this harsh life side-by-side, creating beautiful moments such as this with every step.


	17. Chapter 17

"Rollo. Come see."

Rollo dragged his eyes from the small craft on the horizon, to where his woman was crouching by a nearby tree. "What have you found this time, Imp?" Since he'd recklessly declared his love for her, and stolen her immortality, everything she encountered seemed like a wonder to her. As if she was experiencing this world for the first time.

He'd expected her to be sad at the thought of losing her powers-and his heart had hurt when he saw the look in her eyes as she watched the birds, high in the sky-but, for the most part, she seemed happier now, than he'd ever seen her. Rollo could no longer hear her thoughts, and he did miss that connection they'd had, but it had been replaced by something much stronger. And the knowledge that he held her happiness in the palm of his hand, was both terrifying and invigorating.

She looked up as he crouched down next to her. "Have you ever seen anything so exquisite?"

"It's a flower, Kara."

The small white flower pushing up through the roots of a tree, was nothing special as far as he could see. They carpeted the forest floor every spring, but he could honestly say, he'd never paid them any heed.

"Does it have a name?" Kara touched the petals with her fingertip.

Rollo shrugged. "Probably."

"Do you not think it beautiful?"

Nothing was beautiful in the presence of his Valkyrie. "It's just a flower." He kissed her temple.

"But it's so tiny and fragile. How can it survive? How can something so delicate withstand this realm? Every single thing here, from the mightiest tree, to the tiniest insect, fights every day, just to stay alive. Does that not fill you with awe?" She stood and held out her hand to him. "This world is so beautiful… so full of wondrous things. I want to see it all, Rollo. I want to climb those mountains over there, and sail across the oceans. I want…."

He silenced her with a kiss, and pushed down a feeling of foreboding that clutched at his heart. "You will, little one. With me at your side."

~o0o~

There was a lie in him. She didn't need to hear his thoughts to hear it. She couldn't tell what the lie was, but it was there, dark and insidious, all the same. She had been doing her best to try to ignore it. Now, as she saw Rollo turn again to watch the small boat that was headed their way down the fjord, she thought she had her answer. He was planning to leave her soon to go raiding.

He couldn't promise her that he would return safe and whole. He might say the words, tell the pretty lie that all warriors told their loved ones, but that wouldn't make it any more true, or any more certain. He was going to leave her lonely in this world.

Rollo wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side, and they turned to watch the boat make it's steady progress. Kara wondered who their visitor was. She almost hoped, as unlikely as it would be, that it would be Siggy guiding the boat. As uncomfortable as such a meeting might be, the arrival of Rollo's wife would be preferable to a visit from Floki, or Ragnar, or even Bjorn. However much she might wish otherwise, it was likely that this person would bear news that would carry her Rollo away at some point.

They waited patiently. And when the identify of their guest became clear, Kara felt Rollo stiffen. He had been almost humming with excitement. She knew he was eager to join the raids, but it seemed he was less than pleased to receive the call from his brother.

Kara knew, after many days and nights of unfettered access to Rollo's deepest thoughts - and her man had deep thoughts, despite what some people thought, despite what he let people think - that the bond with his brother was a troubled one. He loved his younger sibling with the unquestionable loyalty that only family could claim, but there was an equal amount of jealousy, from the same source.

Kara was well acquainted with that dichotomy, with the ability to be so proud of what someone had achieved, and at the same time to be able to feel slighted at the loss of attention. She knew what it was to want someone to succeed, and yet to still hold that crumb of hope of failure.

Her man was a better warrior than his brother, he was more stalwart, more true in any shieldwall, but his head was not suited to politics and trickery. Rollo was like an arrow, deadly, but able only to travel in straight lines. Ragnar was a snake, poisonous and stealthy. Rollo had tried to be something he was not, and his inability to beat his brother at that game of deceit still galled him. She knew he needed to find peace in the person that he was, in the strengths that he had, but she also knew that he could never be satisfied as long as he held - what was in his eyes - an inferior footing to his brother. And she knew that Rollo would put his life on the line again to prove that point.

~o0o~

Rollo hadn't expected it to be Ragnar who came for him. And while he knew he should be pleased - honoured even - that his brother had seen fit to offer him passage to Kattegat, he couldn't stop that old feeling of jealousy rising in his chest. Kara's arms tightened around his waist as they watched the little boat approach the shore, and he tried to remind himself that it was him she loved, and that, this time, his brother wouldn't be able to charm her away from him.

The sting of losing Lagertha had never really left him, even though his love for the shield maiden paled into insignificance compared to what he felt for the woman at his side. But he had loved her, and he'd believed that she loved him. Until Ragnar had won her with his clever words and promises. His brother had always had an eye for a pretty maiden, and none were more beautiful than Kara. Rollo pulled her closer and pressed his lips against her silver curls. If he lost her….

Kara frowned and tilted her head. "Rollo?"

He should have known she would sense his mood. No one knew him better than she did. Rollo didn't know what he was supposed to say, so he remained silent as Ragnar pulled the boat onto the shore and walked across the shingle towards them, a half smile on his face.

"Brother." Ragnar may have been addressing Rollo, but his eyes had, not once, left Kara. "You are well?"

"Yes." Rollo forced his face into a grin as his brother raised a questioning eyebrow. "This is Kara. We are to be married before the raids."

Ragnar's eyes travelled up and down Kara's body and his cheek twitched. "And Siggy? What of her?"

Rollo felt his jaw clench. "Siggy is no concern of yours, brother."

A small hand clutching his tunic, silenced him. Kara smiled. "Welcome, Earl Ragnar. There is food and ale inside. You will join us?"

Sometimes, when he was tired, or on uneven ground such as this, Rollo limped a little. It didn't hinder him, but he was aware of his brothers eyes on him as they walked back to the cottage. Kara, touched his back as she'd always done, and then frowned, as she remembered. He caught her eye and smiled - reassuringly, he hoped - he didn't need her help anymore, but when they touched there was something… a ghost of her powers, that sent the gentlest warmth and the merest tingle along his spine. It didn't quite halt the pain, but it did ease it a little, and he was able to keep his stride even.

"We leave for England in eight days." Ragnar leaned on a beam and watched Kara as she filled the bowls with stew. "Will you be joining us?"

"Of course." If Ragnar didn't take his eyes off his woman, Rollo was going to have to hurt him.

Kara handed each of them, a bowl. "Sit, eat. Please."

"Will you be eating with us?" Rollo's gut tightened as Ragnar smiled. "I'm curious as to where my brother found one as fine as you."

"Kara has chores to attend to." There was a brief stand off, as Kara glared at him before turning and storming outside - he was going to pay for that. Rollo's cock twitched at the thought of taming his angry Valkyrie. "And we have matters to discuss."

~o0o~

She might have been able to understand Rollo's rivalry with Ragnar, but that didn't mean that she would accept being dismissed as a mere house wench. Kara was of a mind to take Ragnar's boat and sail off across the horizon. She was almost to the shore when she changed her mind, it would be more fun to make him pay for his arrogance.

But Kara knew that if she faced Rollo in a temper, that he would end up winning the fight. She had to find calm and composure so that she could use her wits. She decided to exorcise her frustrations on the chopping block with the axe and firewood.

And that was where Rollo found her. He came out of the house alone, but Kara continued to finish quartering the log she was working on before embedding the axe safely into the stump they used for a block. She had worked up a sweat in the late Spring sunshine. She wiped her sleeve across her forehead as she felt two strong arms slip around her waist.

"I'm sorry," he murmured at her ear.

"I don't believe you." Kara sniffed.

"I am, truly."

"I still don't believe you." Kara was determined absolutely, not to respond to the way that his beard was tickling her neck and ear. She felt a sigh flutter across her collarbone.

"I was jealous, Valkyrie. My brother wants you."

"I'm sure you managed to agree an advantageous exchange in return for a place in his next raiding party?" she asked, more archly than she'd intended.

Kara gasped when the arms became tight iron bands around her ribs.

"No. My brother doesn't always get to have what he wants. Not this time."

"So you sent me away, like a foolish wench?"

"I wanted you out of his sight. I spoke in haste."

"And now he thinks I'm some poor, lovestruck girl from some far village who became enamoured of the great Rollo Lothbrok and doesn't know her stars from her sun?"

"He might be thinking that now, but I'm sure that a few moments in your company will remedy that."

"Are you saying I'm a shrew?" Kara asked, turning as much as she could in Rollo's arms to face him. He allowed her enough room to twist, but not much.

"You're pricklier than usual, imp."

The bastard was smiling. And there was an axe at her feet. Rollo Lothbrok had obviously lost whatever shred of sense he'd been born with.

"I am not."

The bastard just kept on grinning.

~oOo~

Rollo tightened his grip on his wriggling imp. If he let go now, he'd probably end up with an axe embedded in his skull. "You put words into my mouth, Valkyrie." He couldn't resist kissing her neck.

"You deny it?" Kara's made a half hearted attempt to free herself.

Rollo laughed and nipped at her earlobe.

"Rollo, I am not!"

He let go of her and jumped back as her fist swung towards his face. "You want to fight me, Imp?"

"Stop laughing." Kara swung again. Rollo ducked under her arm and threw her over his shoulder. "Rollo! Put me down this instant!"

Ignoring her, he marched toward the goat pen and dropped her onto the hay.

~o0o~

"Rollo!" Kara exclaimed. The straw was dense and deep, so only her pride was bruised by the fall. She struggled to get to her feet, but the pile of hay kept shifting under her, and her skirts kept tangling around her legs. "Damn you!"

The polite thing to do, would to have been to offer her a hand to get back up. But she should have known, her warrior was rarely polite. Instead of helping her to her feet, Rollo dropped down onto her, knocking her fully onto her back.

"Rollo!" Kara gasped. It was absurd, but she was breathless; surprise, exertion and confusion took the sting out of her words. "What are you doing?"

As if she needed to ask. One warm palm closed over her shoulder. He pushed, and kept pushing, until she gave up struggling and lay back into the hay. He was smirking, really it was more of a leer. It was a natural expression for him, when he was getting his way against her wishes, but it was twisted further off kilter by the scar that creased one side of his face. Kara swallowed, she couldn't ever let him know what the sight of that grin did to her, the way that the lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes when they were shining merrily made her stomach flip.

"You're not fighting me, Imp." His voice was a teasing rumble, for her ears, no one else's.

"It seems a waste of energy. You're so much bigger than I am."

"Hmmmmm," Rollo hummed, as he nosed her hair away from her ear.

His body was heavy on hers, covering her, pressing her into the hay. The straw was sharp and stuck cruelly into her back and thighs, but she paid it no mind. She was distracted by the weight of her man. She could feel him breathing heavily against her neck, inhaling… The thought that he was scenting her did strange things to her insides.

"Shall I prove how big I am, Valkyrie." Rollo murmured. He caught Kara's scandalised gasp in a deep kiss. She tried to pull back, tried to think up some witty response, but she was hypnotised by firm lips and a sinuous tongue and an intoxicating taste.

An amused cough sounded from the cottage door.

~o0o~

Rollo reluctantly pulled away from her embrace, and was unable to keep the smirk from his face as Kara whimpered. "I love my brother, but right now I'd happily strangle him."

Kara's face told Rollo that she agreed with him, but she pushed him away and tried to slither out from under him. "Let me up. Now your brother will be convinced I'm nothing more than another of your whores."

"One more kiss, Valkyrie." Without giving her a chance to object, his mouth recaptured hers, Rangar could wait.


	18. Chapter 18

"Where will you stay while Rollo is in England?" Ragnar looked Kara up and down as she sat on the stool closest to Rollo - something in the way he looked at her made her uncomfortable. "This is no place for a woman alone."

"I…" She glanced at Rollo. How could they have not discussed this?

Clearly Rollo was thinking the same thing. "Kara can stay here if she wishes, she's more than capable of taking care of herself."

No she wasn't. Kara's heart froze at the thought of those long lonely days, and even longer nights, waiting for his return. Of day after day of relentless chores with nothing, or no one, to break the tedium.

She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to stay in Kattegat either.

Kara shivered as a cold chill ran down her spine. "Where else could I go?"

"I have a house in Kattegat, little one. If you prefer, you can stay there."

Ragnar hadn't missed that term of endearment. His mouth twitched. "You are welcome to stay in my house. It's good for the women to support each other when their men are away, and I'm sure Siggy will be understanding. Especially if she isn't turned out of her home."

"It is my home, and I will decide who lives there." Rollo stiffened. "Siggy will find some poor fool soon enough." His eyes narrowed. "If she hasn't already."

Ragnar shrugged and drained his cup. "You have until the morning to decide."

~oOo~

There had been many times, over the past few moons, that Kara had dreamed of sailing along the fjord and looking up at those majestic cliffs that towered over the water. But as she huddled on the small boat, wrapped in Rollo's cloak, she couldn't bring herself to raise her eyes. The motion of the little craft on the water made her stomach churn. And if that wasn't bad enough, she was filled with such dread as her man rowed them ever closer to Kattegat, that it was taking all her strength not to beg him to turn the boat around and row back to their home at the water's edge..

Rollo looked up and frowned. "What ails you, Imp?"

Ragnar turned from his place at the prow. "You are looking somewhat green, Kara." He laughed. "At least she'll not be nagging to join you when you raid, brother. I can only assume she fucks better than she cooks, because from what I see, she is no shield maiden and her domestic skills leave a lot to be desired."

Rollo's jaw clenched and Kara dared to raise her head. "I can fight, Ragnar. I will admit I am not the best cook - in my father's home, my needs were met and I had no need of such skills - but I am not some flighty child. I can take care of myself well enough."

"And who is your father?" Ragnar narrowed his eyes. "Where do you come from?"

"My father is a king - a powerful king - from a land far from here. I disobeyed him and was cast out."

"And then you found my brother."

"Yes." Her eyes met Rollo and she smiled. "It was Odin's wish that our paths would cross."

Rollo returned her smile. "It was Kara who healed me."

Ragnar's eyes widened. "You are a healer?"

"Oh no." Kara shook her head adamantly, immediately regretting it as a wave of nausea washed over her. "Rollo healed himself. I just helped him."

~oOo~

His little imp was standing up for herself, and doing a good job of it. Her spirit was admirable, especially in the face of her obvious discomfort, but that didn't lessen Rollo's need to plant his fist in the vicinity of his brother's jaw for the crude aspersion that he'd cast. Rollo's poor temper was increased by his worry for his imp. He had never taken Kara out onto the water, but he never would have thought her the type to become sick from the motion of the boat. Ragnar's continuing laughter only served to shorten Rollo's temper further.

By the time Ragnar, still smirking, was mooring the skiff, Rollo was about ready to turn around and head right back to the cottage. The only thing keeping him from snatching the rope from Ragnar's hands, was the look on Kara's face. He couldn't deny her at least a few hours on dry land. She needed the opportunity to regain her composure.

Rollo clambered onto the pier after Ragnar. Kara shot him a poisonous look, but still held out her hand for assistance. Rollo wasn't sure if she was playing the part of the dutiful wife, or if she really did feel that weak. Still, he used his strength - and what a thing it was to be able to use it again - to pull her out of the boat. As soon as Kara's feet hit the planks of the pier, Rollo pulled her against his body, holding her close and tight, trying to give her back some of the strength that she'd given him. He didn't foresee their visit going particularly smoothly.

At first Kara held herself stiffly in his embrace. Rollo was hurt that she was holding some tense distance between them. The old demons, his deeply set insecurities and doubts, bubbled evilly to the surface. Kara had decided that she preferred Ragnar... She was just waiting for an opportunity…. Kara took a deep breath, held it, then relaxed utterly and completely against him. As he felt the first threads of relief, Rollo realised that Kara's arms had been around his waist for some time. She had been holding him too. He'd never had anything to worry about.

Rollo hugged his Valkyrie just a little tighter, maybe too tight, since she squeaked. He loosened his hold, and ran one palm over her head and down the silken braid that was resting, tauntingly, over the furs of his cloak. He knew exactly what that braid looked like when unbound. He knew exactly how the body in his arms looked when not concealed by leather, wool and fur. He knew exactly what her eyes looked like when wide and afire with desire, what those pink lips looked

like as they framed cries of pleasure. He knew all that, because Kara was his, and his alone. Rollo hid his smile of love, pride and satisfaction by kissing the crown of Kara's head.

~o0o~

Kara was not unused to the eyes of men on her - she had been a Valkyrie, after all - but the eyes of the warriors in Odin's halls were filled with lust and awe. The people of Kattegat were not looking at her like that. Some were curious, some looked on her with pity, and there were a few women who had only hate in their eyes.

Were it not for Rollo's hand on her shoulder, she was sure she would have turned tail and ran. Although, where she would have run to, Kara wasn't sure. All around them, as they followed Ragnar to the long house, people pushed and shoved, clapping Rollo on the back, welcoming home, their fiercest warrior.

He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I will not leave your side, Imp."

She smiled and took a deep breath as Ragnar opened the long house doors. "I will try to make you proud."

"How could I not be proud?" He smirked and planted a kiss on her lips. "I fucked a Valkyrie."

Kara knew he was teasing, but his flippancy still stung. And there was still a corner of her heart that quaked at the thought of being abandoned by him. Rollo didn't need her anymore, and if he wished, could cast her aside and deny her a seat at his side in Valhalla.

Her fear must have shown in her eyes, because Rollo's expression softened. "I fucked a Valkyrie, but I fell in love with a woman. Come on, you need to sit down and eat, you look like you're about to puke."

Still she hesitated. "Rollo, I…" She didn't know how to explain how exposed she felt. Until yesterday, the only mortal to see her had been Rollo. And while Kara the Valkyrie could bring the mightiest warrior to his knees with no more than a look, Kara the mortal, was just a skinny girl who looked like she was about to throw up.

~oOo~

This was his fault. Rollo wasn't a man given to introspection - it was a luxury he couldn't afford - but he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that when he'd claimed her, he had stolen his Valkyrie's fire.

And now he was going to abandon her.

He wanted to pull her into his arms, wanted to protect her from prying eyes, and promise that he would never leave her. But how would that help her? What was done, was done, and Kara was going to have to learn to how survive while he was away.

"Now is not a good time to start your sniveling, Imp. Did you not just promise to make me proud? Straighten your back, daughter of Odin, and hold your head high. Do not make me rethink my decision to take you as your wife."

He knew he would see confusion and hurt at his sudden coldness in those huge, blue eyes, so without waiting for an answer, he took her arm and led her through the door.

~o0o~

Daughter of Odin.

Indeed she was.

And in that moment, Kara recognised Rollo's sneering condescension for what it was. Every time he spoke down to her, chastised her for weakness, ridiculed her, he was trying to make her stronger. He was telling her how she was weak, and how she was strong, and expecting her to find a path between the two states. How had she not see it before now?

She had not be born with an innate ability to wield a shield or thrust a sword. She'd had had to learn. And every swat, every cut, every bruise, had taught her a lesson. Rollo was teaching her to fight as surely as her sisters had done, although with a little less finesse.

Now was not a good time to be snivelling. Indeed, she did want to make him proud. And she was a daughter of Odin. She lifted her chin, and on a whim, threaded her fingers into Rollo's beard, and pulled him down into a kiss. They were still in the doorway of the long house, silhouetted by the afternoon sun. Some may not have known their faces, her face, but she heard gasps none the less. Some had probably recognised Rollo.

Not that Kara cared. Rollo could keep all the fame he desired, notoriety was not her wish. She was overwhelmed with the truth that she had uncovered, but that didn't stop her from nipping a bite of punishment to Rollo's lip, hard enough to taste blood.

His grin told her everything she needed to know. "You will pay for that, Valkyrie." Rollo licked the blood from his lip. "But you will have to be patient, and wait for your punishment."

~oOo~

He had barely stepped through the door before Siggy was at his side. Rollo had known that he wasn't going to be able to avoid her for ever, but had hoped that maybe, she would wait until after they'd eaten. He laid his hand protectively on Kara's shoulder and inclined his head. "Siggy. You are well?"

"No, Rollo. I am not." Siggy glared at Kara. "Please ask your whore to leave. I need to talk to you."

This was going to get ugly, and Rollo really didn't like the idea of the whole of Kattegat listening when it did. "I will talk to you in good time. But now I wish to eat."

Siggy grabbed his arm as he tried to pass her. "I said I wanted to talk to you."

"And I said I wanted to eat." He took Kara's arm and dragged her to where Floki and Helgar were sitting and watching the whole exchange with interest.

Floki stood and brought his face close to Kara's. "Where did Rollo find you?" He touched her forehead and giggled. "Or did you find him?"

Rollo opened his mouth to speak but Kara nudged him and smiled. "I followed Odin's path, and it led me to Rollo."

"And what do they call you?"

"My name is Kara." She looked longingly at the food on the table. "And I'm hungry."

"Then you must eat." Floki practically forced her onto the stool he'd vacated. "Helga, make sure Kara's needs are met. I have a feeling that Odin would want her to be taken care of."

He'd promised to stay by her side, but Rollo found himself being dragged into a quiet corner by an increasingly excited Floki. He gritted his teeth, as the boat builder grabbed the front of his tunic. "I'm tired and hungry, Floki. What is it you want?"

"She was sent by Odin." Floki planted a kiss on Rollo's forehead. "I thought he was angry with you, but I was wrong. You must visit the seer, maybe he can tell you what Odin has in store for you."

Rollo shrugged and watched his Valkyrie as she picked at her food. "What difference will knowing make?"

"I don't know." Floki giggled and followed his gaze. "She is not of this realm, Rollo."

Rollo sighed. "I know." There would be no point in trying to deny it - Floki wouldn't believe him, if he did. He leaned against the wall, ignoring his growling stomach. "She's a Valkyrie."

"No. No. She can't be. No mortal man can look upon Odin's shield maidens… unless…." Floki grabbed Rollo again. "What did you do?"

"Come outside and I'll tell you the whole sorry tale."

~o0o~

Kara was absolutely famished, but she found that her appetite deserted her the further away that Rollo moved. She was determined to be strong and proud, but there were a lot of people staring at her Odin's beard, nearly every set of eyes in the longhouse were turned her way. And now Floki and Rollo were heading back out through the door. She was going to kill Rollo. Certainly if he thought he was getting his cock wet this night, he was very much mistaken.

"You should eat."

The blonde opposite her, Helga, was giving her a small smile. The girl, she wasn't really all that old, seemed to be showing genuine friendship. Even as naive in the ways of this realm as she was, Kara knew it would not be wise to reject such an opportunity.

"I will, thank you. The journey was quite arduous. I can't think why I'm not more hungry."

"From Lagertha's old house? I didn't think it was so far away?"

"It's not, but apparently I do not travel well by water." Kara said ruefully. That she should be seasick was evidence of weakness, and she did not want to be weak.

Helga would have said more, but a shadow fell over their table. When Kara looked up, she found Siggy staring at her, her expression set in cold, hard lines.

Kara said nothing. To try and make a friend of Siggy would make her look weak and foolish, and would be entirely pointless. And while she had no intention of giving Rollo back to his wife, she had some sympathy for Siggy. The woman had been humiliated, put aside and abandoned, in a very public way. Kara had no sympathy for Rollo. He had fucked off and left her to deal with the aftermath of his decision to bring her to Kattegat. Rollo would be seeking his relief from his hand for at least the next moon.

"So you're his new whore." Siggy said, her tone was pure ice.

"No. I'm his new wife." Kara responded. She badly wanted to stand,she felt at a complete disadvantage, being seated and trapped behind the table, while Siggy stood with queenly posure in front of her. Kara felt like a whelp in the shadows, but she would keep her tone calm and measured. She would not give the watching crowd the satisfaction of a cat fight.

"I'm his wife."

Something about Siggy's tone did not ring true with Kara. Perhaps it was the tone, perhaps it was Helga's raised eyebrows, perhaps it was that when Kara looked around the room, one man stood and made as if to come to Siggy's side. He halted when Siggy, having noticed the movement, turned a sharp look in his direction.

"It seems, perhaps, that you've only just remembered that status." Kara said.

"How dare you." Siggy seethed.

"No." Kara could remain seated no longer. She stood, but made sure to keep her hands by her sides. She would not be the one to start an undignified scrabble. "How dare you. How dare you lay claim to him with your lover in this very room. How dare you try to humiliate him so. You are utterly faithless. He is right to put you aside, even if it were to mean that he must spend every moon hence alone."

"I am not faithless." Siggy hissed.

"Faith in yourself is not the same thing." Rollo growled from behind Siggy's shoulder.

~o0o~

Rollo was not a happy man, right now. In his mind's eye, he had envisioned his return to Kattegat, with the most beautiful woman in this realm as a more joyous, triumphant experience. He'd known that Siggy wouldn't be pleased, but somehow had imagined, that faced with Kara, would choose to maintain a dignified silence.

But Kara looked sick, and then instead of being impressed and happy for him, Floki had been angry at how Rollo had defiled her. Unwilling to listen to what he knew to be the truth, and with the boatbuilder's words still ringing in his ears, he'd returned to the longhouse only to see Siggy standing over Kara and everyone waiting for the fur to start flying.

Then Kara stood, and the sick, frightened girl disappeared. Rollo grinned, he should have known that his Valkyrie would refuse to be intimidated. She looked as fragile as the white flowers that carpeted the forest floor, but no man there could fail to see the strength within her.

Daughter of Odin.

"Faith in yourself is not the same thing."

Siggy spun around at the sound of his voice. "Everything I have ever done, has been for you. And this is how you repay me. I will not be usurped by this… this whore. You will not humiliate me in this way."

"Where were you, Siggy, when I was near to death?"

"By the time I was told you were sick, the weather made travel impossible, by land or sea. I have cared for you, before, Rollo."

"Yes." He couldn't deny that. Rollo looked around at the watching crowd. "You did your duty well. But don't pretend it was done through love. And don't pretend that you're not sorry I survived."

"That is unfair. I have never wished you ill."

Rollo shrugged. He hadn't wanted to humiliate Siggy - they might not have ever loved one another, but his time with her hadn't always been unhappy. "Nor I you, Siggy. But this is the way it is. Tomorrow, Kara and I will have our union blessed by the goddess and make a sacrifice to Odin. You may stay in our house until you find somewhere else to live - although, I'll warrant that there's a warm bed awaiting you somewhere - and if you wish to celebrate with us, you are welcome." Rollo's eyes met Kara's and he smiled. "Now, I wish to eat with my wife and my friends. Why don't you and your lover join us."


	19. Chapter 19

As weddings went, the celebration was positively discrete. It wasn't quite the time of year. Kara would have been happy to wait until Autumn, if it delayed Rollo's absence. He was adamant that he wanted them to be wed before he sailed west again, but he did not want to wait for another year to pass before he left. They wouldn't even be able to enjoy the full moon's worth of time after their joining before he left.

Kara had dressed in the best clothes that she had brought with her - they were Lagertha's, she assumed. Considering that none of her garments were really fit for the ceremony, that meant only that she was dressed in her cleanest attire. Helga was carefully brushing out Kara's hair, it would not be bound up today. Leaving it long and shining over her shoulders and down her back was the closest thing to adornment that she could manage. Kara didn't care, baubles and decoration meant little. What mattered, was that at the end of this day, she and Rollo would be bound in the eyes of the gods. They would be able to enter Valhalla together.

Lagertha was leaning against one of the frame posts, her arms folded across her chest. "I never thought Rollo could keep such a secret as you."

Kara raised an eyebrow, but barely turned in Lagertha's direction. She had no wish to suffer another slap of Helga's fingertips for fidgeting. "He's been trapped out in the cottage for moons. He's had no one to tell his secrets to."

"Except you."

"No, he doesn't tell me all of his secrets."

Lagertha snorted. "That's probably a blessing." She unfolded her arms and pushed away from the pillar. "Do you love him?"

Kara knew that Rollo and Lagertha's bond was deeper than friendship, almost familial, but in that moment, she wondered if might not have been more.

"Yes. I do."

Lagertha made a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a chuckle. "I don't know whether to wish you well, or to pity you." She reached for something that she'd tucked into the wide band of her leather belt, and pulled out a string of amber beads with her fingertips. "Here, wear these. There's little enough to please the gods about all of this. You don't need to affront them any further. You should be wearing Freya's tears when you ask for her blessing."

Kara took the jewellery, and Helga stood back respectfully as Kara fastened the necklace herself. She wondered if the stones would make a difference to her fate, to Rollo's. Likely Freya would have overcome her jealous pique. Likely she had spent the past moons laughing uproariously at Kara's predicament. Kara wondered if she would be watching, if she would bestow her blessing, even a portion of one. She wondered if Odin was pleased with his work.

"Thank you."

Lagertha snorted again. "I definitely pity you."

~o0o~

Rollo would have preferred to have someone more impartial perform the wedding ceremony, but the duties fell to Ragnar, as the most senior person in the town. To Rollo, that he would be married by his brother, was just another demonstration of inferiority. But he tried to put such worthless thoughts aside. Today he would be wed to his Valkyrie. No matter that she was mortal now, she would always be his shield maiden. He felt invincible.

He had passed the time, waiting for Kara to finish her needless primping, by drinking with Ragnar, Bjorn and Floki. Deflecting some of Bjorn and Ragnar's questions was a less than easy task, especially as he was still suffering Floki's scorn. Rollo kept to the tale that Kara had begun to weave, that she had been disowned by her powerful father, and had travelled far before she'd wound up in the fjord. It had been much easier, and far more satisfying, to prise information about the forthcoming raids from Ragnar.

The day was clear and bright, holding all the promise of the season. The blue skies boded well for calm seas on the coming voyage. With no rain to force proceedings inside, the principal party took their place on the pier, surrounded by the waters of the fjord, and observed by the majority of the town. Rollo was well aware that many were there out of pure curiosity, rather than friendship, but he shoved those musings to the back of his mind as well when he caught sight of Kara.

The crowd parted to let his bride pass. She was flanked by Lagertha and Helga, neither of whom looked particularly joyful or celebratory, but Rollo didn't care. Every person in the town could go hang themselves, as long as Kara would stand by his side.

"You took your time, imp," he murmured, as she took her place next to him.

"I had to give you enough time to get drunk." Kara whispered back.

He thought about pinching her arse in punishment for her impudence, but she was resting her palm on the dagger at her waist, in readiness to hand it over in the traditional exchange. Rollo had no wish to end that portion of the ceremony with her little knife buried in his ribs, so he kept his hands to himself.

"I'm not too drunk to do my duty, imp."

Kara looked up at him then, with a smile, and glint in her eyes that could melt the winter snows. "You'd better not be."

Ragnar cleared his throat to gain their attention, and began to invoke the words of the ceremony. The crowd fell to silence as they exchanged blades, hers to symbolise that Rollo, not her father, was now her protector. At the thought that he was replacing Odin, Rollo had to bite his tongue before his laughter tumbled out, if it started, it would not stop. He gave Kara one of his own daggers, a blade to be held in trust for their first son.

That act, along with the next part of the ceremony, gave Rollo some pause. When Ragnar indicated that he should do so, Rollo untied his pendant, Mjolnir, and refastened the weathered leather strips around Kara's neck instead of dropping the amulet into her lap as tradition usually dictated. The act was supposed to invoke fertility. They hadn't discussed children yet, but Rollo couldn't see how it could be possible. Kara might be mortal now, but she'd spent a significant part of her existence in another realm, as an unearthly being, surely it couldn't be possible that she could bear children. He didn't want to cause her pain by raising the subject. For himself, it would be one more regret in a sea of regrets.

The smile that she gave him, as she wrapped her pale fingers around the bronze pendant that rested against her collar bones, told him that he'd done the right thing. That gave Rollo a moment of peace… until he imagined seeing the jewellery against Kara's skin, later, when it would be the only thing that she would be wearing, and then he didn't feel the least bit peaceful at all.

It was Floki who held out the horn of mead. Rollo drank from it first, then passed it to Kara. He grinned as she took a healthy swallow, she'd certainly become accustomed to the fermented honey drink, if not porridge and dried fish.

One of the young boys from the town, standing on the edge of the crowd, staggered forward, dragging a recalcitrant sow behind him. The animal seemed aware of its fate, and determined to thwart it, until Rollo took the rope in a firm grip, then the obstinate animal gave up its struggles with an indignant squeal.

Rollo knelt and hooked his arm around the sow's snout, to bare her throat. Kara knelt, too, holding the bowl that she'd been given in place. His bride was smiling, happy, relaxed. He wanted to capture the moment for all eternity, a gift to her, to remind her of why she should fight against the harshness of their lives when he was away.

"I love you." Rollo spoke so only Kara would catch his words.

"I love you, too."

He placed the blade of the dagger she'd given him against the thick and bristled skin. "For the gods." He spoke loudly so the crowd could hear as he drew his arm sharply back. He gripped the animal in its death throes, so that it's blood would fall cleanly into the bowl.

Kara did her best to catch as much of it as possible, and she did well. When the bowl was full, Rollo laid the body of the pig gently onto the planks of the pier. The rest of the blood would drain into the water, and the body would be prepared and roasted for the celebratory feast. They stood, and both laid hands on the bowl as they presented to Ragnar, who took it from them and raised it to the sky.

"May Odin and Freya bless this union."

Ragnar's voice rang out across the fjord, and was almost drowned out by the clap of thunder that echoed across the cloudless heavens.

~oOo~

The longhouse was, in some ways, reminiscent of her father's hall. Of course her former home wasn't as small and smelled a good deal sweeter. The atmosphere was different, too; In Valhalla, there was only laughter and - she searched for the word - contentment, but here the laughter was tinged with a myriad of other emotions. Kara could no longer hear the thoughts of mortals, but it was becoming clear that Odin had seen fit to leave her with some of her powers. They were no longer as powerful as they were when she was an immortal, but they were there, never the less.

As people brushed past her, in the crowded space, she was aware of any sickness or pains, that they carried with them - more so than them, sometimes - and she could feel that not everyone was happy for Rollo. Some were resentful, and jealous and not everyone trusted him. Kara, could understand that. He had betrayed his brother, killed Arne, and almost ended Floki's life. He should have, by rights, been killed for what he did. But Ragnar had saved him and given the credit to Odin.

And then, again, he'd been snatched from the jaws of death, and returned with a goddess at his side.

She'd begged him not to tell anyone of her origin. If she was to live among these people - to not be subject of fear, or viewed as a way of winning favour with the gods - they had to accept that she was just like them. But her stupid, prideful man had opened his mouth, and told Floki, who couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it. It wasn't exactly common knowledge, but as the mead flowed the whispers were spreading around the room and furtive glances were being thrown in her direction.

Rollo had abandoned her again. It was her wedding night, and it would have been nice if he, could, for once in his life, not to be an inconsiderate, selfish pig. Kara would probably have been more angry if she didn't have the perfect view of her husband, shirtless, in the centre of the hall, accepting challenges from every young, ambitious warrior in the room.

By all the gods, he was beautiful. Kara could feel her very core clench, as he spun and ducked under his opponent's sword, the sweat glistening on his broad back, and running in rivulets over his muscles as they bunched and flexed. She couldn't help the small smile that played across her lips, as her arrogant, impulsive, reckless warrior, smashed his forearm into the younger man's face, and looked over in her direction.

She became aware that Lagertha - who had been at her side from the moment Rollo had decided that he'd used up all his nice for the day - was laughing. "He is a fine looking man, I'll not deny it. You make a handsome couple." She fell serious. "If what Floki says is true, I would imagine your experience of men is limited; Rollo is unsurpassable on the battleground, I can well understand how he caught your eye. But while every maiden wishes to marry the fiercest warrior, they don't usually make the best husbands."

Kara smiled. "And do shield maidens make the best wives?"

Lagertha conceded the point with an incline of her head and laughed again. "You face a lifetime of fighting and fucking, I suppose it could be a lot worse." She patted Kara's thigh. "But try to be gentle with his heart. Rollo doesn't love easily, but when he does, he gives it his all."

~oOo~

"Did you sleep with her? It's not a difficult question, Rollo. Yes or no will suffice."

"What difference does it make?" Rollo lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. "Come to bed." He couldn't resist opening one eye, as she began to undress. "You have your marital duty to perform."

Kara refused to turn around and look at him. "Did you sleep with Lagertha?"

He sighed, she would be like a dog with a bone over this. He may as well tell her the truth. "Yes. It was a long time ago, before she met Ragnar."

"Did you love her?"

"I love you. Come to bed."

"Did. You. Love. Her?"

"Yes." He opened his other eye. "Or at least, I thought I did. But now I love you. Come to bed, Kara. Please, I don't want to fight."

She sighed and turned around. Rollo's breath caught as she gave a tiny smile. "Was there any woman at the celebration who you haven't slept with?"

"A few." He grinned. "The ugly ones."

He began to sit up, but was immediately pinned down by his fierce little goddess. She straddled him and forced his shoulders into the mattress. "You will never sleep with them again. I mean it, Rollo. I will not share."

"Kara…" Rollo wanted to promise her that he would never fuck another woman. But he had always used women whenever he'd wanted to, and when the berserker madness took over, he was aware of nothing but his impulses-impulses that had to be satisfied at all costs. "Kara…"

"Am I not enough for you?"

"Yes." He ran his hand up her creamy thighs. "But…" He couldn't lie to her. She would know. "I'm a berserker, sometimes I…"

He expected her to be angry, but Kara leaned forward and kissed him. "Just promise to try."

~o0o~

"I will try."

He was humouring her, she could tell. She could hear the lack of sincerity in his tone.

"Whatever immediate relief you might find after battle, will never rival what you have at home. Shall I demonstrate?"

"If you wish, Valkyrie."

She loved the way that he smiled, the way just one side of his mouth quirked upwards. She didn't know his his smile had ever been even, or if the scars that lined his cheeks gave the structure to the grin that made her yearn to be naked in his arms. And here she was, naked in his arms, his body naked beneath hers, watching that grin spread so that the fan of lines at the corner of each of his eyes crinkled.

At first, when she began to work her way down the mattress, Rollo tightened his grip in her thighs. Feeling the power in those thick digits made Kara's body weep, and for a moment, she was tempted to let him deter her, but then she decided that she was determined to have her way. She wanted to give him something to remember, the next time he thought to dip his wick in the nearest pot of oil.

"Valkyrie." His voice had grown pleasingly hoarse. "What are you doing?"

"Persuading you to keep your promise." Kara murmured, and bent her head to the rigid length of his cock.

This was an act that Kara had been intrigued by for some time. Some of the warriors who inhabited her father's hall who had travelled more widely than others, often told bawdy tales, of women who could steal men's souls with their mouths. Some listeners declaimed such things as unnatural, that a man should only spend where his seed could bear fruit, but others had urged the tale-tellers on to reveal more and more details.

When her tongue touched the tip of his shaft, Rollo's cock jumped, as if it had a mind of it's own. Kara found that she had to grip the base of it firmly in one fist to keep it steady. That Rollo grunted every time she touched him with her fingers or mouth only made her more bold. The skin was unbelievable smooth, like silk over such hard muscle. She took her time exploring him, learning what made him react more or less to her attentions. When Rollo reached down to sift the fall of her hair over her shoulder and away from her face, she knew he would not stop her.

It took Kara several attempts to figure out just how to take him fully into her mouth. At first it seemed mightily uncomfortable, but she found a way to hold herself, and him, so that she could manage it. When Rollo's hips started to buck of their own accord, she tightened her grip to keep him from hurting her. He tried to grab her head, once, but when she lifted her mouth clear of his body, he held up his palms in a surrendering plea and folded them behind his head in a silent promise.

Kara set back to her task. Before long Rollo's body was rocking almost uncontrollably, and Kara gloried in the power that she knew she had over him. That he was at her mercy was perhaps more enticing than the act itself, her jaw was beginning to ache in the most distracting way, but then his gasps took on a more frantic tone, his shaft swelled and pulsed and her mouth was filled with his hot, salty seed. Kara swallowed, wanting to take all of him into her in any way.

She sat up, delicately wiping the corners of her mouth with a fingertip. Rollo was lying still, breathing hard.

"You should keep your promise in the forefront of your mind," she murmured, as she lay down along his glorious body.

She shrieked like a maid when he growled "My turn" and flipped her onto her back.

As he began to work his way down her body, lavishing attention on her neck, her breasts, her belly, Rollo rasped. "And you, Valkyrie, should be reminded why you'll pay court to no other whilst I'm gone."

Kara had held no intention of doing so anyway, but she was willing to allow Rollo to persuade her.


	20. Chapter 20

More than anything, Rollo wanted to let go of the oar and roll his shoulder, but he was aware of his brother's eyes on him, so gritted his teeth against the pain and continued. It wasn't so far from Floki's boat yard to Kattegat and if he showed any sign of weakness, Ragnar wouldn't hesitate to refuse to allow him to join the raids.

He knew he would never be as strong as he once was, but he was still at least as strong as any warrior, and he had been more than compensated for his loss. Rollo grinned at the thought of his Valkyrie writhing underneath him. Ragnar could watch all he liked, he would not see the weakness that he wished to see. Ragnar was jealous. Rollo almost laughed out loud. His brother who had outshone him for as long as he could remember, was jealous of something he had.

Kara, his beautiful bride, had charmed all who saw her. Even Siggy wasn't immune to her allure. In the few days they had been in Kattegat, people were flocking to their door in the hope that the Valkyrie would grant them some favour or another. Kara had politely but firmly told them all that she was mortal like them, and Floki was up to his tricks, but she did know how to ease a person's pains, and would help anyone if she could.

~o0o~

It was probably a good thing that Floki was going raiding soon. If he stayed in Kattegat, Kara wasn't sure she could be held responsible for her actions. He'd inadvertently given her a way to earn a living, it was true; but looming before her was a life of looking at rotten teeth in stinking mouths, puss-filled sores, warts, and rashes on parts of the body she'd only ever seen hitherto with her husband.

Her gift, what was left of it, worked primarily if she could lay hands on the affected area, and there were things that she'd seen over the past few days that even a wall of pikes and vats of oil could not persuade her to touch. Fortunately, she could at least bestow a little ease from itching or pain with just a sympathetic hand on a shoulder or arm, but she was going to have to work on her methods if she wanted to truly earn coin as a healer.

Kara stepped out of the smoky gloom of the longhouse. She'd been there for most of the day. What had started out as a simple walk through the town had turned into some sort of gathering when people had heard that she was out and about. She wanted to get back to Rollo's house before the sun began to set. She could lock the door then and rest. She took several deep breaths of the fresh air, which was so mild it felt like a caress on her skin. The reeds burning in vials of rancid fat in the longhouse provided little light and a lot of stench. Between the smell and the darkness, she was feeling nauseous. She set off for Rollo's house, trying to will her unruly stomach to behave.

She supposed that it didn't help that she hadn't sleept well. She'd grown used to Rollo's body in their bed, the way that the mattress dipped under his weight, forcing them to always lie close together. She missed his warmth in the cold hours of the night. She missed his jokes, and even, Freya help her, his barbs. She definitely missed the way he touched her, the way he could bring her blood to boiling fire with barely a raise of an eyebrow.

Kara had been troubled by bad dreams as well. They had started on her wedding night. They were always the same, a snow white hare and a brown hare hopping through a meadow filled with wildflowers. Then the flowers would wither and die and the white hare would find itself all alone. The white hair would zig zag through the brittle grass, looking for its friend, which it never found, but always eventually it would be joined by a raven, and then it would stop searching. Kara still couldn't interpret what the dream meant, but every time she awoke from it, she was filled with a numbing sense of foreboding that made her almost afraid to close her eyes.

Kara couldn't seem to get the stink of the reed lanterns out of her nose. Remembering her night-terror made her feel light headed. She felt queasy, and her stomach clenched threateningly. The fading sunlight suddenly seemed far brighter than it had a moment before, the sounds around her much louder… and then the ground tilted….

~o0o~

Rollo scanned the crowd as Floki's new boat approached the pier; Kara should be there, surely she heard his horn and the people running to meet them. Something was wrong, Rollo vaulted over the side of the boat as soon as they were in shallow water, and began wading towards the shore.

Oblivious to the people around him, and deaf to their questions about the new boat, Rollo marched towards his house. "Kara?" He pushed open the door. He sagged with relief as she sat up on the bed and rubbed her eyes. "Some wife you are. The least you could do is be there to welcome me home."

"Oh. I must have fallen asleep. I have been so tired and…. I've been tired. So many people want my help, and it leaves me weak."

"Then don't do it." Rollo pulled his tunic over his head and let it fall to the floor. "You owe them nothing, and your powers belong to me."

"I want to. I have to survive with you away. Whatever coin you had is gone and I have to eat." She began unlacing the front of her shift. "Of course if I was to accompany you…"

"No."

"Can we at least talk about this?"

"No."

"Rollo…."

He knew Kara could fight as well as any man-even him. Her skills with a sword had taken his breath away, and her agility more than made up for her lack of stature. And he'd be lying if he said he wouldn't miss her touch. But Kara was mortal, and the thought of her dying without him and being left to wander alone through the mists of Niflheim, twisted his gut and filled him with dread.

There was only one way to end this discussion. Rollo dropped onto the bed and silenced her.

~oOo~

Kara had been tired, she had been absolutely exhausted, but it was impossible not to feel invigorated with Rollo's tongue plunging into her mouth. She could have cried that she's missed the opportunity to welcome him at the waterfront, literally, she could feel the tears welling behind her lids. The sudden flood of emotion shocked her. She pulled away from the kiss, but Rollo didn't seem to realise anything was wrong. He bent his head to take her breast and Kara nearly screamed at the sensation, somehow, it was more intense than it had ever been.

"You missed me, Valkyrie," Rollo growled against her skin.

"Yes!" Kara twisted her fingers into Rollo's hair. She wanted to hold him in place, but she was almost too sensitive. She was writhing with the indecision. "Gods yes, I missed you, she gasped. It wasn't a lie, not even close to an untruth. Rollo had only been gone for one night, and yet she'd woken in the grips of a dream so erotic that her body had responded as thoroughly as if her husband's cock had indeed been driving into her.

Without warning, Rollo thrust two fingers into her wet and needing channel. Combined with the sensation of his suckling, the effect was explosive. Kara exploded, calling out Rollo's name between sobbing gasps for air, her back bowing so violently that she nearly came completely off the mattress.

Rollo grunted, lifted himself over her, and thrust his cock, hard and deep. Kara cried out. She wasn't sure whether the spasms that were rocking her were fresh pleasure, or a continuation of the culmination that he'd already wrought from her, either way they were divine.

"Ahhhh,wife." Rollo dropped his head so that his forehead rested against hers, but he did not still the violent motion of his hips. His breath was coming in great pants. "I missed you too."


	21. Chapter 21

The waterfront was a hive of activity as the boats were readied for the raids. Kara hugged herself and forced down the urge to cry as she watched her man… her husband load the boat with the provisions they would need for the crossing. Soon they would be sailing, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had lodged in her heart.

"You are afraid for him?"

Kara spun around at the sound of Helga's voice behind her. "I think I am afraid for both of us. If Rollo…." She couldn't say the words. "We will be together in Valhalla, but…."

"You will choose to join him?"

Kara knew what Helga was asking, and they had discussed whether Kara should sacrifice herself to join him, should he fall in battle. "Of course. Rollo is the only reason I am here."

"And yet you are afraid." Helga touched her arm. "Do you think Odin will deny you?"

"No… no, but," she sighed. How could she explain that whether she joined Rollo wouldn't be Odin's decision, it would be his, and the warriors in Valhalla soon forgot any attachments that they'd had in this realm. "Rollo was saved. Over and over, he has defied death. I'm not sure his destiny includes me."

"He loves you."

"Yes." That, she couldn't deny. "And I him."

Helga smiled. "Then you shall be together."

Kara blinked away the tears that were pricking the back of her eyes. She didn't understand why in the days since their wedding, she seemed to be perpetually on the verge of tears.

As if sensing her mood, Rollo looked up and frowned, then abandoning his task, and ignoring Ragnar's mocking laugh, rushed to her side. "What ails you, Valkyrie?" He grabbed her waist and, as if she weighed nothing at all, picked her up and kissed her. "Are you not happy for me? Is this not how things are meant to be?"

"I am happy for you, Rollo. How could I not be? You are healed and are the man you were destined to be." Kara wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him as tightly as she could. "But you are leaving me, and I'm afraid you will forget me."

His laugh was deep and his eyes crinkled. Kara felt that familiar flutter in her stomach as he brought his mouth close to her ear. "No man could ever forget you, Imp. No god either, I'll wager. I will be away for no more than a blink of the eye, compared to the time we are destined to spend together."

"If I could…"

"No." He silenced her with a kiss. "You will stay here." He kissed her again. "I know you can fight; you are the most powerful shield maiden this realm will ever see. But your place in your father's hall is not guaranteed, and I have to follow the path Odin has set for me. Stay here, Kara. Stay well, and wait for me. If I cannot return to you, you can return to your home with me."

He made it sound so simple. Kara squeezed her eyes closed in an attempt to quell her tears. She supposed that it was. But in Valhalla, she was nothing special, all her sisters were as beautiful as she, and Freya-a sob escaped-Freya would steal him away from her. All it would take is just one kiss. If she sacrificed herself and he forgot her, she would be doomed to forever wander through Niflheim.

They could no longer hear each other's thoughts, but their minds were still, in some way connected, as if by a silken thread that was both delicate and immensely strong. Rollo set her back onto the ground and laid his calloused hand on her soft cheek. "I may not know the ways of the gods, Kara. But I know more than you about love. Do not doubt me. I will never cast you aside." He grinned. "It is your breath that I breathe, and your blood is running through my veins. Do you not understand? I am more than the man I was before you breathed life into me. You complete me."

She forced herself to smile. "Such pretty words. I'm almost inclined to believe them."

"Believe them, Valkyrie. It matters not, what realm we are in. No one, not even Freya herself, can come between us."

"Freya _is _very beautiful."

"Yes, I'm sure she is." He turned as a shout went out: they were ready to set sail. "But it's you who I love." He bent and kissed her. "Wait for me, Imp."

"Don't forget me, Warrior."

He laughed again. "I shall only dream of you."

~oOo~

The day was perfect.

As the fleet moved swiftly through the almost still water, under cloudless skies, Rollo leaned against the prow and scanned the horizon. He was healed, he had regained the chance to take his place at Odin's side. He could, once more, prove to all the gods that he was the fiercest of all the warriors.

And yet… the silken thread tugged at his heart…. and yet.

He should be happy, but with each pull on the oar, every time the sail bellowed as it caught the breeze, his heart grew heavier. No matter how hard he tried, Rollo couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. That the gods were still playing their games.

~oOo~

"Does Rollo know?"

"What?" Kara spun around at the sound of Siggy's voice.

Siggy smiled and took the dough from her. "Now we have to place it on the stone on the hearth."

"Please, Siggy. What is it that Rollo should know?" In the days that Rollo had been away, Siggy had become more of a friend than Kara felt she deserved. That she was now living in the house of a blacksmith, probably had something to do with it, or maybe Rollo's former wife had an ulterior motive. Kara wasn't sure, but whatever the reason, it made her time spent with the women in the longhouse easier.

"That you are carrying his child."

"I... Oh… How?"

Siggy laughed, and led her to the bench by the table. "The usual way, I imagine. Did you really not know?"

"No." Kara stretched her hands over her belly. "Are you sure?"

"You have been sick every morning since you arrived. You cannot bear the smell of fish." Siggy patted her hand. "I am as sure as every other woman here."

She was carrying Rollo's child-his son. Kara swallowed and blinked. "I'm having Rollo's son?"

"Or daughter." Siggy poured a cup of ale and passed it to her. "Although, if what Floki says is true, I think a son is more likely."

Her head was reeling. She had to get out, away from the smoke, from the smells, from the people. Kara leapt to her feet and almost ran for the door. Rollo's son was growing inside her. Ignoring the curious glances from the townsfolk, she hurried to the water's edge and took a deep breath. _Please Odin… Father. Please let him return to me. _

"I think you would do better to offer sacrifice to Freya, child."

Kara spun around... again. Why did the people of Midgard insist on creeping up on her? "Seer!"

The seer inclined his head. "Valkyrie." He waved his hand toward his hovel on the edge of the town. "You will walk with me?"

"No." Kara lifted her chin. "Odin will not speak to you, any more than he will speak to me." She laid her hand across her stomach and smiled. "My path has been set. I have no choice but to follow it."

"And Rollo?"

She shrugged and looked back out toward the open ocean. "Rollo has his own path to follow." She felt her words catching in her throat. "I don't believe we will see each other again."

"Walk with me. It is true that the gods have not spoken of you to me. But you carry the son of a mighty warrior and Odin's shield maiden. Maybe Odin will share with me something of his destiny."


	22. Chapter 22

So this was how it felt to die.

Rollo stared up at the leaden sky as the ravens circled above him, but he was not listening to the sounds of battle, far in the distance. His thoughts were only of Kara, his imp, his Valkyrie.

He'd seen her for the first time on a battlefield much like this. He knew he would not see her this time, could not see her. She was no longer a Valkyrie, not in truth, and that - in part- was his doing.

But there was nothing that he regretted, apart, perhaps, from the sword that was lodged in his gut. The blow had not been lucky, Rollo had not been lacking in his skills or strength, he knew that. He had simply found himself fighting someone of equal - or apparently greater - talent. He had fought well on this day, he had been valiant and he was dying a warrior's could be no doubt that he would enter Valhalla. He had earned his place several times over. There was no way that Odin could deny him entrance to the Great Hall.

Rollo felt regret for the sadness that he knew Kara would feel. He winced to think of her heart breaking when she received the news. He hoped that she had built enough friendships in his absence that there would be arms to hold her when Ragnar told her what had happened. But she would not long be in pain. Days, mere days, and they would be together again. Once he was in Valhalla, such time would probably pass in the blink of an eye.

Rollo felt his body grow ever colder. Even the pool of blood underneath him that had been his only warmth, was now as cold as ice water. There would be no intervening Valkyrie this time. No, his destiny was at hand, on this day he would ascend and look upon Odin and Freya. Rollo wished that Kara was nearby to hold his hand, a weakness he was willing to admit to in these final moments. If he tried, he could imagine her slim fingers in his own. If he tried, he could remember the touch of those delicate hands all over his body.

There had never been much room in his life for regrets, at least, not many that he would have admitted to. Sometimes, there were thoughts and feelings that were best left buried in the pit of the soul. But the one thing that Rollo did find himself regretting, was that his time here with his Valkyrie had been so brief. Barely a year. He had hoped for many years, ones not consumed with a battle to be able to trust and use his own body. He hadn't dared hope for a family, even if thoughts of fierce girls with hair like sunrays and tumbling boys with hair as black as their eyes would sneak up on him when he was without distraction. He'd hoped that they'd have longer to know each other, to enjoy each, to love each other.

Rollo smiled to himself, and welcomed the numbness that was creeping over him, blanketing him against the fire that had been searing his stomach, burning his entire torso to ashes, had finally died to embers and been snuffed out. That might have been Ragnar shouting in the distance. There might have been the thump of boots, more vibration than sound. Bjorn may have been calling his name, but Rollo had no interest in frantic pleas and entreaties. He closed his eyes, and concentrated on becoming… whatever he would be. The sooner he left Midgard, the sooner he would see his beloved Valkyrie again.

~o0o~

Kara watched the lights flickering in the night sky and allowed the tears to fall, unchecked, down her cheeks. That Rollo would be one of the fallen who her sisters were, at this very moment, collecting, she had no doubt. This was her punishment, to be left behind for the rest of her life, while Rollo took his rightful place in Valhalla. Unbidden her hand touched her belly and she took a deep breath. If she sacrificed herself—allowed the priestess to slit her throat—their child would be lost, and she didn't need the seer to tell her that the son of Rollo was destined for greatness beyond his father's wildest imaginings.

A sob escaped, and Kara hugged herself a little tighter. She should have known that Freya would never allow her to return to her home. Rollo would quickly forget her; why should he not? Freya would offer to take the pain of losing her away, and he would grab the chance with both hands.

One kiss. That would be all it took. One kiss from the most beautiful goddess any realm had ever seen, and she would be forgotten forever.

~oOo~

There was no day or night in Valhalla. No winter or summer, and no way of marking the passage of time. There was no tiredness or pain, no hunger pangs or thirst. And for his fellow warriors, no memories of past attachments. They would remember and share tales of battles or sweet maidens, but there was no talk of families, of children or wives. They had eagerly accepted Freya's offer to wipe such sadness from their thoughts, and only he alone, remembered his imp, and waited for… days? Weeks? Years?

He drank, and fought. He laughed and reminisced with his friends. But mostly, he waited.

And waited.

"Let me ease your pain, Rollo."

How many times had Freya offered? Rollo had no idea, but each time she did, he refused. "He raised his eyes and forced his mouth into a smile. "I am not in pain, my queen. I am just waiting for Kara to join me."

Freya returned his smile. "Maybe she doesn't wish to. Maybe she has found another to love."

That thought had troubled him, but in truth, he didn't believe it. He had no idea why Kara hadn't joined him. Maybe no time had passed in Midgard, Rollo had no way of knowing, but it mattered not. He had pledged to always remember her, and to guarantee her passage home. He frowned. "Will she be able to return home with her new love?"

"No." Freya moved closer, so that their bodies were almost touching. "But that need not be any of your concern. Forget her, Rollo. There are many maidens here who are as beautiful as her."

One kiss. That would be all it took. All he had to do was let his queen brush her beautiful lips against his, and the heaviness in his heart would disappear for ever. Rollo closed his eyes, "I do not wish to forget her, my queen. I will wait."

"And if she loves another?"

He laughed. "I have loved before, and not had that love returned to me. If I have to spend eternity watching my love in the arms of another, so be it. But Kara did love me, and I love her. I promised that I would not forget her and I will not go back on my word."

~o0o~

She hadn't been able to stay in Kattegat, but she had not been without friends. Kara had refused to sacrifice herself to Rollo's funeral pyre. People had whispered about shame and disgrace, until the mutterings had become too much for her to bear. She had known, almost to exact moment it seemed, exactly when Rollo had died. When the boat had arrived back, carrying its miserable load, Kara hadn't bothered calling out for Rollo. She had known that he, or what remained of his mortal body, was in the bundle of blankets that Bjorn, Ragnar and Floki carried.

Floki had been skittish around her. She wasn't sure if he expected her to take a bloody and violent revenge against all those who had been unable to keep her man alive. She could have told him, if he'd given her the chance, that she had no power or inclination to do any such thing.

Ragnar had been the first to come to her, but she had ignored him, to the point of rudeness, and had pushed past him to Bjorn. It was from Bjorn that she sought the details of Rollo's last was from Bjorn that she learned the tale of the battle, the tale she could pass on to the son she carried. She would make sure that he knew every axe swing and sword thrust of his father's exploits.

After the funeral, when the raging inferno of the long boat was but a twist of smoke on the horizon, only Lagertha, Bjorn and Siggy would speak to Kara. The cottage had been Lagertha's idea. At first, Kara had been unsure. She had spent so many moons living in the cottage with Rollo, she didn't imagine that returning to it would hold anything more than torturous memories of what might have been. But as the days progressed, as more and more people turned from her in the street, she began to not care if there was pain waiting for her. Better to be alone with the agonising comfort of her memories, than rejected by ignorant fools. Of course, everyone knew her reasoning from not joining Rollo immediately in the afterlife, but it appeared they all thought that three deaths were better than one. Kara did not share their opinion.

Returning to the closest thing they had ever known as their own home was every bit as painful as Kara had thought it might be, but it was also strangely comforting. Every memory, triggered by anything from the sight of a familiar cup to the wisping steam of the hot springs, brought both happiness and time, she was able to remember with fondness, and without the sadness bursting forth.

In time, the people of Kattegat began to forgive her, at least a little. Or rather, their need overcame their condemnation. But still Kara would not return to the town. She wanted to live where she and Rollo had lived the best of their life together. At the cottage, she felt closest to him, as though he was somehow watching over her, although she knew that was as impossible as it was did not doubt that Freya would have tried to tempt Rollo, but Kara felt as though she would know if her sister had succeeded. She still felt linked to her warrior, a feeling that she could not put into words. And if he would wait for her, then she would wait for him.

So Kara waited, and she healed the people of Kattegat - in return for their coin - when they came to her. And when Rollo's son was born, healthy and strong, she spun him tales of his warrior father. Every night, as she rocked her babe in her arms, she told him of strength, of honour, of wit, and of stubbornness. She told him of a light heart, and a hard head, and a heart so strong it could beat for all eternity. She told him of a love that could transcend all the realms, and she hoped that she did not tell him lies.

~o0o~

"Rollo, come with me."

Rollo raised his head at the sound of Odin's voice. When he looked around, he realised that he was alone in the Great Hall, something that he would have said was impossible, if the King of Gods had not been standing in front of him.

"Now?"

"You can stare into that cup of mead some more, if you'd prefer?" Odin said, with a touch of irritation.

It wouldn't do to keep Odin waiting. The capricious deity could change his mind in an instant. Rollo set his untouched mug of mead aside, and went to Odin's side. He made sure to stand on the side of the working eye. He'd heard more than a few irritable words spoken when people approached Odin from his blinded side.

"Will you tell me where we're going?" Rollo asked, as they began to walk into the forest.

"No. But you'll remember the way without my telling you." Odin replied.

They continued to walk for some time. They did not speak much, Odin did not seem inclined towards conversation, and Rollo was in no mood for talking about trivialities. He missed his imp. The lack of her was like the ache of an old wound on an icy winter's day. They made their way through pine trees taller than any Rollo had seen on Midgard. Their footsteps were muffled by a thick blanket of fallen dense canopy blocked out all but the most stubborn strands of sunlight, but they did not have any difficulty picking their way through the dim shadows.

Eventually, Rollo heard the trickle of water. Not many steps later, they came upon a stream. Odin led the way along the trickle of crystal water, until they reached a place where the water swirled into a bowl that it's passage had carved from the earth, before flowing on to somewhere unseen.

Odin knelt by the pool. "Come," he beckoned Rollo. "Kneel. Look."

Rollo had no idea what Odin intended, but he'd seen enough fantastical things in the realm of Valhalla that he knew now not to question the magic that surrounded him. The never-emptying banquet tables, the bottomless jugs of mead, the battles from which fallen warriors rose again and again, all continued to happen without any explanation.

Odin pointed again at the eddying water. Rollo followed his direction, knelt, and gazed into what, at first, appeared to be nothing more than water running over earth. And then… the ripples seemed to catch a shaft of sunlight a certain way. The liquid sparkled a thousand times more brightly, and it was no longer a pool, it was a mirror. But it did not show him himself and Odin. Rollo realised he was looking at Midgard.

"What the…?" he murmured, but when the silence of rush of the wind through the trees and the chirp of the birds was his only response, he looked around and realised that Odin had vanished.

Rollo turned back to the pool, hoping that he vision hadn't faded. It was as clear as ever. He continued to look, hoping for a some clue as to what he was seeing. He nearly fell back onto his arse when he realised that he could see Lagertha's winter cottage. It was a place so full of memories for him, and they all stabbed his heart as a volley of arrows.

He wanted to ask Odin what the meaning of the portal was, whether the mischievous god-king had shown him such a thing for petty amusement, but Odin was not there to ask. Rollo continued to watch. He watched birds fly across the sky, in a realm long lost to him. He saw the waves of the fjord break over the stones of the beach. Eventually, he saw the door to the cottage open. He expected to see Lagertha, but instead he saw Kara. Rollo did sit then, overwhelmed by love and longing. He felt as though someone had punched him in the gut, so great was his need to reach into the water and touch the woman he loved, but he was afraid of disturbing the vision. He clenched his hands into fists, and continued to watch.

Kara had aged a little. It was only evident in the way the corners of her eyes creased more than they had, but it brought with it the realisation that he had been in Valhalla for years. It was summer, and fluffy white clouds scurried across the blue sky. When Kara's head jerked up, Rollo thought she might have somehow sensed him, but then he realised she was reacting to a sound he could not hear.

And then a little boy ran out of the cottage, a sturdy lad, who looked to have at least six summers to his age. He was a handsome lad, with his mother's clear blue eyes, and hair as dark as freshly turned earth. The boy arrived at his mother's side, and looked up to tell his mother some tale, gifting Rollo with a clear view of his face. Rollo understood why Kara had not yet joined him, and why he must continue to wait.


	23. Chapter 23

**Epilogue**

Torben listened as his mother whispered the tale he could recite by heart. For as long as he could remember, this had been the tale that his mother had told him to lull him to sleep, to comfort him when he was sick or afraid, to amuse him when he was bored. It was a tale he never tired of hearing. He often imagined that the fierce warrior that his mother spoke of, the one that had claimed the love of a Valkyrie, was his father. His mother rarely spoke of his father now, but Torben remembered everything she'd ever told him about the man he'd never been able to meet. it seemed to his mind now, that the fairy tale and the legends of his sire were one and the same, and he wondered if the passing of the years hadn't confused his mother.

"And the Valkyrie married the Warrior, and bore him a son. A strong boy, who grew to be a strong man, a Jarl, a conqueror of lands."

His mother's voice was hoarse and broke on the last words. He lifted the cup of water to her lips with one hand, and slipped his other arm around her frail shoulders to lift her from the bed so that she could drink. She took a sip, but immediately started coughing. Torben quickly set the cup on the floor, and helped his mother to sit as straight as possible until the wracking coughs had finished tormenting her slight frame.

His mother was a healer, a good one. Torben couldn't name anyone from the town who hadn't sought his mother's aid, who had not benefited from her knowledge. And yet, she was not getting any better. The sickness that had come on with the last snow would not leave her. It was stubbornly stealing all her energy. The cough was getting worse. He reached now for the linen by the side of the bed, and helped his mother to spit out the blood that was clogging her lungs. Torben winced. It was more than usual, and darker, too. He was beginning to suspect, with a wisdom born of recently realised mortality, that his mother did not wish to heal herself.

He was no fool, he knew about death and all it's many forms. He had delivered it to countless foes during the course of his adventures. He had even delivered it to friends, when they had begged him to save them from a grievous wound and ensure their passage to now, holding his dying mother in his arms, he realised that he, too, would grow old and die. That one day, he might wish for death, rather than life.

"I love you, mother." Torben whispered.

"And I love you, son. You've been a good boy. Your father is proud, I know he is."

"Father is dead, mother." Torben thought the sickness might be playing with his mother's mind.

"Yes, but he watches you from Valhalla. He sees you, and he loves you."

"Will you join him, mother?"

"Yes, if Odin will let me, if Freya has forgiven me."

"You should ask them." Torben said, as he laid his mother gently down against the pillows, confident for the moment that the coughing fit had passed.

"Yes." His mother closed her eyes. Their colour had remained sharp and clear, but their abilities had been failing her of late. "Yes, I think I shall ask them now."

Torben watched his mother slip into sleep, and wished for calm and pleasant dreams for her. He hoped, if it made her happy to do so, that she dreamed of his father, and that maybe, she dreamed of him also, and the family that had never been.

~o0o~

Rollo knew he wasn't like his fellow warriors. To them, there was nothing strange and dreamlike about Valhalla. They didn't find it odd that Odin's hall was both the same size as a longhouse in Midgard and infinitely big. That the snow outside never melted, yet it was always warm. They didn't wonder why time seemed to stand still. In Valhalla there was just _this_ moment. No future, no past, just now.

Except for Rollo.

"Why do you still wait for her, Rollo?" Freya asked, as she always did. "She must be an old woman now, worn down by life in your realm. Would you not prefer one of the maidens here?" Her laugh was soft, enticing-everything about her was enticing. "Kara isn't the first Valkyrie to take a lover, if that's what you prefer. I'm sure many would be happy to give up the right to harvest the fallen for a prize such as you."

"I will wait for Kara, my queen."

"But you are so sad. Look at your brothers, Rollo. Look how happy they are. Just one kiss and you could be as happy as them."

He sighed. "I am not unhappy. I'm waiting."

Rollo closed his eyes. It had been a long time since he'd looked down on his wife… or maybe it had been a heartbeat ago. His son-his fine son-had grown into a mighty warrior, and Kara had grown old, but he knew that the woman that joined him would be young and beautiful. And even if that was not the case, it made no difference. He had promised to remember her, he'd promised to wait.

"Why do you care?" Freya was being more insistent than usual. "Kara selfishly snatched you from me. It is because of her, you endured such pain. Why you endure it still."

There was no way to explain to Freya, the ways of love. He smiled as memories as fresh as if they were yesterday-perhaps, indeed they were-filled his being. Of her touch, her kiss. How her hair felt between his fingers. Of her body writhing under his. Rollo dared to look into his queen's eyes. "She loved me… loves me still. Please, Freya, allow her to come home. You have punished her enough."

Freya's eyes narrowed. "She stole you from me. Do you really think I will forgive her for that? She can wander through Niflheim until the end of time. It is no less than she deserves."

"Then I wish to leave this place." Rollo shrugged. "My place is at my woman's side. Wherever that may be."

Rollo spun around as a hand touched his shoulder, then immediately averted his gaze. "My lord, Odin."

"Walk with me. Rollo."

It didn't surprise him that, despite walking through the door he always did, the world outside was changed. Rollo looked around. The hall was gone, and in it's place was….. nothing. Just a huge expanse of white. He turned to Odin and frowned.

Odin laughed and pointed to a figure, far in the distance. "Your wife awaits you, Rollo, greatest warrior, bravest of men. Bring her home."

"How….?" Rollo turned back to his god, but found himself alone.

The blankness of the space confused his senses. It was infinite and claustrophobic in its nothingness. He felt deaf and blind.

A shout startled him. A long remembered voice, one he'd never thought to hear again called his name. The sound, echoing in the nothingness, made him spin. His heart almost leapt out of his chest. He felt dizzy with the shock of seeing her, within his reach, after so long. Rollo shrugged off Odin's fickle nature, and laughed as he ran towards his beautiful Valkyrie. It could take forever to find Odin's hall. Or it might only take the blink of an eye. Either way, it didn't matter. As long as they were together, they were home.

And then she was in his arms. Rollo picked her up as her own arms wrapped around his neck and her mouth found his. They kissed, for forever it seemed, then he set her down on the ground.

"You took your time, Imp."

~The End~

**A.N**

**Ozzysgirl**

**So, that's it.**

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Mucky and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we did writing it.**

**I'm not sure if there will be more from us-this was just a one off because Mucky is...well... mucky and wanted to get down and dirty with Rollo, and I came along for the ride.**

**If you're interested in reading other stuff we and the other wonderful writers of The Freak Circle Press have done, click the link to our website on my profile**** or take a look at our Facebook page:  freakcirclepress**

**MuckyShroom: **

**Yep, I had to twist Ozzysgirl's arm behind her back to write this *apply sarcasm font*, but we had an awesome time and a right giggle doing it. We started out by writing Sons of Anarchy fan fiction. If you like that kind of thing, you'll find those fics at the website as well.**

**Now, we need to find more tall, bearded men to take advantage of…**

**Thanks for reading, and thanks for the reviews. The hardest thing about writing fanfic is keeping the characterisations, and it's great to know we got it right.**

**Hope to see you soon x**


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